Scott Cochran reveals drug addiction led to Georgia resignation, starts recovery group

In February, Scott Cochran resigned as Georgia’s special teams coordinator. A key piece of the Bulldogs’ back-to-back national championships, the university said he and analyst Darrel Dickey resigned to “pursue other opportunities.”

During an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, though, Cochran said his resignation was because of drug addiction. Now, he’s giving back by helping start the American Addiction Recovery Association.

“I’m more excited about our mission at the AARA than I was when Coach (Nick) Saban called me in 2007 to be his strength coach at Alabama,” Cochran said, via the AJC’s Ariel Hart. “We’re going to stand tall instead of crouching down. Instead of living in fear and in manipulation, we’re going to stand tall. And we’re going to wear recovery as a badge of honor. We’re coming together as a group across the nation to say, ‘Hey, recovery is real.'”

Before he worked at Georgia, Cochran worked at Alabama from 2007-19 as Saban’s strength and conditioning coach. But he told the AJC part of the reason he left the Crimson Tide was to get a change of scenery due to his addiction, and he opted to get help after his wife, Crissy, found him unconscious.

“She found me dead,” Cochran said.

Cochran then went to rehab in Massachusetts before joining the Georgia staff starting with the 2020 season, but a year later, he told Kirby Smart about his condition. He recalled that conversation and the reaction that followed.

“I literally said the words, ‘I am a drug addict,’” Cochran said. “And you could just hear the air come out of his voice. And I started getting emotional. I said, ‘I’ve been battling this a long time.’”

Cochran went back to rehab after that conversation, and remained sober until 2023. That’s when he relapsed again and stepped down from full-time coaching. In February, he announced his resignation and met Jeff Breedlove, who helped him launch the AARA. Cochran is the organization’s president and Breedlove serves as CEO.

It’s safe to say, he’s excited.

“I’m big on nerves. I’m big on controlling nerves. … You always get butterflies,” Cochran said. “The key is to get them to fly in formation. But if you’re not nervous and anxious, I don’t think it’s important to you.”

Scott Cochran attended LSU before joining the Tigers’ staff in 2001 as a graduate assistant. He then became their assistant strength and conditioning coach before joining the New Orleans Hornets from 2004-06 in the same role. That’s when Saban came calling in 2007 to bring Cochran aboard his first staff at Alabama.