Kane Wommack's 'excellent' recruiting ties believed to be major factor in hiring at Alabama

South Alabama head coach Kane Wommack emerged as the favorite to take over the role as the next defensive coordinator at Alabama under newly-hired head coach Kalen DeBoer. Wommack will fill the shoes of former Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who like Nick Saban, also announced his retirement following the 2023 season.

Wommack has been the head coach at South Alabama for the past three seasons, taking the program to new heights while also heading up a defensive unit that has consistently performed at a high level.

But ESPN’s Chris Low reported Sunday night that Wommack’s strength as a recruiter also played a major role in him being hired as the Crimson Tide’s next defensive signal caller.

“Central theme I hear about Kane Wommack and his hiring as @AlabamaFTBL‘s DC is that he has excellent recruiting ties in the Mobile area and throughout the state, strong relationships with people who matter in those circles,” Low tweeted o Monday night. “It also doesn’t hurt that he’s been a head coach.”

DeBoer landed that Alabama job thanks to his impressive resume as a head coach, proving to be a winner at all of his stops while boasting an impressive 104-12 record as a collegiate head coach. But none of his coaching gigs in his career have been in the south, making head coaching stops at Sioux Falls, Fresno State, and Washington before being hired as Alabama’s next head man.

DeBoer’s lack of experience in the south puts him slightly behind the eight ball in regards to recruiting in the south, an area which Wommack has become fluent in over the years in his coaching career.

Wommack and DeBoer’s relationship dates back to their coaching days together at Indiana under Tom Allen, where DeBoer was the offensive coordinator and Wommack was the defensive coordinator for the Hoosiers in 2019. But before that, Wommack spent two seasons at Ole Miss as a graduate assistant and safeties coach along with two seasons at South Alabama as the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Following his stint at Indiana, South Alabama brought Wommack back to become their head coach ahead of the 2021 season.

Under Wommack, the Jaguars’ 10-win season in 2022 and their most recent eight-win season in 2023 represent the two best finishes for the program in school history. Which they were able to do so in part thanks to Wommack’s defense, which held opponents to 21.9 and 19.4 points per game in the last two seasons with one of the Sun Belt’s top five scoring defenses in each of his three years as their head coach.

Wommack has also excelled in recruiting, boasting the top recruiting class in the Sun Belt last offseason according to On3’s Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings. As DeBoer and the Crimson Tide are hoping he can translate his recruiting prowess in Mobile to success in Tuscaloosa on the recruiting trail.