On the heels of Alabama losing defensive assistant Kevin Steele to a new job at LSU, Alabama head coach Nick Saban is losing one more defensive assistant to another SEC West rival.
Lance Thompson has reportedly agreed to join the Auburn coaching staff as a defensive assistant under new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. 247 Sports was first to report the coaching news.
Thompson had been Alabama’s outside linebackers coach for three seasons under Saban. He had spent the previous three years as an assistant at Tennessee and he is regarded as a top-notch recruiter for Alabama. His move from Alabama to Auburn should be a huge boost for the Tigers, a program in need of solidifying things on defense in order to bounce back and compete for the SEC championship and make a run at a potential playoff spot. With the coaching changes happening for Gus Malzahn and his program, things seem to be looking up on defense, and this move may crack things a little bit in Tuscaloosa. Thompson is the final piece of the puzzle for Auburn’s revamped coaching staff.
Alabama has now lost two assistants to division rivals in a span of 24 hours. This is far from suggesting Saban is in trouble, coming off a second straight postseason bowl loss.