Nick Saban addresses additions of Ken Wisenhunt, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to coaching staff

Alabama coach Nick Saban made numerous additions to his staff this offseason, with two of those being Ken Wisenhunt and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. As spring practice gets ready to wrap up, he sees the value they have added to the team already.

Wisenhunt joins the Crimson Tide as a special assistant to the head coach with nearly 30 years of coaching experience under his belt, including the past two as an offensive analyst for Penn State. He also served as a head coach in the NFL for both the Cardinals and Titans, something Saban believes will be a big bonus in 2023.

“He’s got a lot of good experience,” the coach said. “He’s a really good coach. He’s been a head coach. He’s been an offensive coordinator in the NFL for a long time. I just thought it’d be a great complement to our staff. He’s been in a similar role with Penn State for two years, so he really learned the college game. He’s a good guy. I think everybody has a lot of respect for him. I think his energy, his enthusiasm, his ideas have been very helpful to us.”

Clinton-Dix, a former Crimson Tide, safety, joins Nick Saban’s staff after seven seasons in the NFL. He was a two-time national champion at Alabama under Saban and also earned a Pro Bowl appearance in 2016.

Saban explained that Clinton-Dix will work in a player development role with the Crimson Tide this season. He believes his experience in success both in college and the pros is something he can pass on to the players.

“Ha Ha is sort of a player development coach,” he said. “…Ha Ha has got great character. He’s a great person. He sets a really good example. He’s got really good leadership. The players sort of migrate to him. He gives ’em great advice and directions and things that they can do to help accomplish their goals. He’s just done a fantastic job for us and appreciate the fact that he wants to be here. It always makes me happy when we have guys that played here, had great careers in the NFL, made the Pro Bowl and they wanna come back and be a part of the program. So we welcomed him and he’s done a fantastic job for us.”

Alabama is coming off of an 11-2 season in 2022, missing the College Football Playoff for just the second time under Saban. But with the additions of Wisenhunt and Clinton-Dix, they’ll aim to get back to their championship ways this season.

The Crimson Tide have a little more than a week left of practice before their spring game on April 22.