New DC Kane Wommack setting the tone for Alabama's defense

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – When Alabama opened practice to reporters on Wednesday, there was a different energy. Yes, music was playing across the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields, but there was a lot of intensity, too, none more than from defensive coordinator Kane Wommack.

That is intentional from the former South Alabama head coach.

“I think the responsibility as the defensive coordinator is to set the tone of what you’re looking for,” Wommack said. “I write in my notes every single day before we go out, ‘You set the standard. You are the standard for how you want things done.’ I think leaders lead from the front – and they serve everyone else around them – but they also set the example and the tone of how things need to be. 

“If I ask my players to bring energy every single day, I need to bring energy every single day. Ultimately, my job is to set the standard, cast vision, and then hold everybody accountable to the relentless detail that it takes to accomplish that vision.”

Wommack was one of the first hires new Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer made after landing the job, and the two reunited after spending the 2019 season on the same Indiana staff. Wommack will call the defensive plays for the Crimson Tide and coach inside linebackers.

UA fans probably heard of Wommack from his time in the southern part of the state, and they are beginning to learn about his “Swarm” defense, which operates out of a 4-2-5 scheme. It will be a little different than the defense they have been used to with Nick Saban for the last 17 seasons, but Wommack has met with Saban to discuss the transition.

“There has been a standard of defensive play and it’s been led by one man in the last 17 years, and Coach Saban has been incredibly supportive so far,” Wommack said. 

“I’ve met with him a number of times, both on the phone and multiple in-person meetings. What I’ve asked is that he helps me with the learning curve, adjust to what we’re doing. As we talk ball, those are fun things for both of us to be able to talk through what they’ve done defensively over the years (and) how our defense is adjusted.” 

At Alabama, and even before, Saban ran a base 3-4 defense with three defensive linemen and four linebackers – two on the edge and two off the ball. Wommack’s defensive philosophy, which he learned from his father, has a 4-man front and two off-ball linebackers, and the guys on the outside are known as the Bandit and Wolf. The latter is more like the outside linebackers in Saban’s defense, while the Bandit is more of a strongside defensive end.

There is, of course, new terminology and schemes for the Crimson Tide’s players to learn, but as Wommack explained after Wednesday’s practice, there are a lot of similarities, too.

“We still get four-down looks, but we move in and out with that outside Wolf ‘backer into the boundary,” Wommack said. “So really, we’ve kind of evolved more towards Coach, and he’s probably evolved a little bit more towards us. So the learning curve for our players is less than you would think.”

Players are picking up the new defense, but it will still take some time to fully master it. But that is what spring practice is for. More than anything, Wommack is looking for his players to have the right mindset over these 15 workouts. “Effort and finish” are key, he said.

“The effort that they bring, the energy that they bring in all those things are palpable. They feed off of one another,” Wommack said. “There is a momentum that is carried in a football game, and those are things that we need to be mindful of as we continue to set the tone for what it’s supposed to look like. 

“I told the guys the responsibility of the Swarm D whether run or pass of stopping the offense is placed on all 11 shoulders of the defense, right. And so that’s the mentality they have, but it takes a special effort to do those things and I think we’re getting that done.”

Wommack on ‘accountability circles’

Setting the tone is important for Wommack, and another way to do that, in addition to the energy he brings to the field, is to hold players accountable. He described the “accountability circles” that Alabama’s players participate in after practice, which Wommack learned from his former head coach, Larry Fedora, who he played for at Southern Miss from 2007-09.

“We hold young men accountable for their effort and their finish,” Wommack said. “When they do not meet the standard and expectation, that is in the form of a loaf, we hold them accountable in the next day’s practice for a loaf. We don’t hold them accountable immediately. We go in, we chart it, we look at it, and then we give them the opportunity for production in the next day’s practice. 

“If they get a PBU, they get a sack, they get a takeaway, those are minus-loafs, and at the end, those loafs are paid in up-downs. When you step up to the middle of a circle of guys, and you say, ‘My name is Kane Wommack and I let Swarm D down five times,’ those guys pay the up-downs for you. You have to stand there and watch your teammates pay for the things you didn’t do to meet the standard. 

“There’s real accountability in that, and I think we’ll see significant improvement from day one to day two.”

Not a member, Tide fans? Join BOL today!

Have you subscribed to BamaOnLine.com yet? You can sign up for ONE MONTH of premium access to our Alabama coverage for just $11.99! Be able to read all of BOL’s premium articles and nuggets covering Alabama sports and recruiting and also join thousands of other Crimson Tide fans around the globe on the BOL Round Table message board! CLICK HERE!