Alabama football has officially replaced Nick Saban’s longest-tenured lieutenant.
Last week, Georgia confirmed that it had poached Alabama football strength & conditioning coach Scott Cochran to take an on-field coaching role. Specifically, Cochran will serve as the Bulldogs’ special teams coordinator.
Saturday, it was reported that Alabama had offered Indiana strength & conditioning coach David Ballou the same job with the Crimson Tide. Tuesday morning, The Crimson Tide confirmed that Ballou has been hired as Cochran’s replacement. Cochran’s official title is that of Director of Sports Performance.
Additionally, Dr. Matt Rhea, Indiana’s Athletic Performance Coach, is following Ballou to Tuscaloosa. Rhea’s title with the Tide will be the Director of Performance Science.
“Just as with any other area, we feel that it is imperative that we adopt and integrate advancements in the field of strength and conditioning that will provide elite training, while better protecting our players from injuries and helping them develop and perform at a higher level,” the Alabama football head coach said in a statement. “Our program has been working toward these types of advancements with the development and construction of our own sports science center, and with the addition of David and Matt, we believe our student-athletes will be better equipped to reach their goals for many years to come.”
Ballou has spent the past two seasons at Indiana. He also went to high school in the state and played his college football for the Hoosiers. After spending the first 14 seasons of his coaching career at his high school alma mater, Ballou took a job at Notre Dame in 2017. He spent one year with the Fighting Irish before returning to IU.
At Alabama, Ballou will certainly have sizable shoes to fill.
Cochran was on Saban’s staff for all six of his national titles, as he served as an assistant strength coach at LSU in 2003. Cochran has been in the same position with Alabama football since Saban took over as head coach in 2007.
Cochran is widely considered one of the top strength coaches in the sport. Not surprisingly, his pay reflects that. This past season, only four strength coaches earned more than Cochran’s $595,000.
Ballou, incidentally, was 15th at $400,000. That number placed him fifth in the Big Ten as well. The salary he’ll receive from Alabama football is not yet known.
“Player development is my passion,” Ballou said in his statement. “We can’t wait to get to Tuscaloosa and begin working with some of the best athletes and football players in the nation. We will attack all avenues of performance to make sure we are optimizing the physical abilities of every player on the roster.”