🏈 Report: Florida hiring Alabama assistant coach Austin Armstrong to become next defensive coordinator

[RTB X Bot]

Florida coach Billy Napier is “targeting” new Alabama inside linebackers coach Austin Armstrong to become his next defensive coordinator, ESPN reported late Tuesday night.


The report stated current Gators co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Patrick Toney, who calls the team’s defensive plays, is “in negotiations” to join the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. Florida has another co-defensive coordinator, Sean Spencer, who works with the defensive line.

Armstrong served as Southern Miss’ defensive coordinator the past two seasons. His hiring by Alabama was reported in mid-January but not made official until last week, when the school announced he would serve as inside linebackers coach.

“Growing up in West Alabama the opportunity to coach at The University of Alabama is a dream come true,” Armstrong said in a statement Feb. 13. “I have admired what Coach Saban has built in Tuscaloosa and the long history of tradition and success this program has enjoyed. I am excited to get to work as we continue the legacy of success that is synonymous with Alabama football.”

Armstrong, 29, is a native of York, Alabama who played at the now-closed Sumter Academy and later, Huntington College in Montgomery. After graduating in 2015, he coached at Montgomery Catholic Prep and then West Georgia. He joined Louisiana’s staff in 2017 and was retained when Billy Napier was hired by the Ragin Cajuns in 2018.

After spending a year as a quality control coach on Kirby Smart’s Georgia staff in 2019, Armstrong re-joined Napier in 2020 as Louisiana’s inside linebackers coach before leaving for Southern Miss the next season.

When Alabama played Southern Miss in Sept. 2021, Saban offered strong praise of Armstrong’s defense.

“They have a very good defensive team for their level of play,” he said. “I would equate their defense to an SEC-type defense in terms of the way they’ve played so far this year.”

Napier is a former Alabama assistant under Saban, serving as an analyst in 2011 and later the Tide’s wide receivers coach from 2013-16.

Pete Golding served as Alabama’s inside linebackers coach and defensive coordinator last season before leaving for Ole Miss. His replacement as defensive coordinator, Kevin Steele, has an extensive background coaching linebackers and could assume those duties if Armstrong departs. Alabama also does not have a named safeties coach after the departure of Charles Kelly to Colorado earlier this offseason.

Assisting Golding with Alabama’s inside linebackers the past three seasons was former NFL linebacker Max Bullough, who served as a graduate assistant since 2020. Bullough became an analyst on Alabama’s staff earlier this offseason but days later was reportedly hired by Notre Dame as a defensive graduate assistant.

 

[rick4bama]

I'm hearing he will be a Gator sometime today?

 

[64Tide]

OK, twitter bots, what are you seeing about this?

 

[TerryP]

OK, twitter bots, what are you seeing about this?

All signs point to gone.

 

[BamaFan334]

Well...somuch for that excitement coming in and coaching our boys.

 

[TerryP]

Well...somuch for that excitement coming in and coaching our boys.

Speculating a bit here with a few points as well...

Armstrong was make 315K at Southern Miss as DC. Hutzler was making 300K at Ole Miss before he came to Tuscaloosa as a position coach and was hired at 495K.

If we assume Armstrong's deal was worth twice the money, 600K, he's probably looking at another 300-500K at Florida—with a co-DC title if he's taking Toney's old job.

Then there's the fact Armstrong has worked under Napier both as a GA and then as a position coach before he went to Southern Miss...

 

[TideatMileHigh]

Obviously I'm biased, but this would be a retarded move on his end. I get that he is comfortable with Napier, but Napier is too much of an unknown as a major college coach. He could be good, but he could also be like another Jim McElwain at Florida.

If Napier ends up being like Jim, Armstrong will go down with the ship as well.

Also, if he does good at Alabama, he'll probably have pro teams and major college programs throwing millions at him to be a DC as early as the end of the year.

 

[bama alum]

Obviously I'm biased, but this would be a retarded move on his end. I get that he is comfortable with Napier, but Napier is too much of an unknown as a major college coach. He could be good, but he could also be like another Jim McElwain at Florida.

If Napier ends up being like Jim, Armstrong will go down with the ship as well.

I don't disagree with you at all; gotta wonder if he's burned a bridge here.

 

[BamaFan334]

Speculating a bit here with a few points as well...

Armstrong was make 315K at Southern Miss as DC. Hutzler was making 300K at Ole Miss before he came to Tuscaloosa as a position coach and was hired at 495K.

If we assume Armstrong's deal was worth twice the money, 600K, he's probably looking at another 300-500K at Florida—with a co-DC title if he's taking Toney's old job.

Then there's the fact Armstrong has worked under Napier both as a GA and then as a position coach before he went to Southern Miss...

Yeah, I do not disagree with his decision to take a higher level position and the money. I do wonder if he'd be able to "sacrifice" the pay for a year or two under Saban and see where that leads him. After this past season in Gainesville, the Jaden Rashada drama with NIL, and the bowl game look, you wonder where Napier is gonna be in two to three years if he doesn't have a bounce back year. Saban ain't going anywhere and Armstrong would be a viable candidate to be making $1.5M like Golding in a couple of years as Defensive Coordinator if he proved himself.

 

[TerryP]

@BamaFan334 asking or wondering about Napier's future is something a lot of people are doing. I don't know how much we can take from year one other than at least one question; what happened on that trip to Nashville? I also believe you have to give Napier a break due to what Mullen left in Gainesville. Ol' Dan left MSU stagnant, how much of that did he leave with the Gators?

 

[colbyjacks]

Just sucks because we thought we had a DC in training.

 

[#80]

This is the kind of shit that has to make a HC blood boil. After watching BN last year I don't think he will make it at FL.

 

[TerryP]

This is the kind of shit that has to make a HC blood boil. After watching BN last year I don't think he will make it at FL.

Almost ten years ago, in January before signing day, a newly hired defensive line coach left USC and accepted a job at ...

 

[RTB X Bot]

 

[SnakeDoc]

Good for him, but hate to lose him.

 

[SnakeDoc]

This is the kind of shit that has to make a HC blood boil. After watching BN last year I don't think he will make it at FL.

I think he'll do well. I'd love to see him @ Bama.

 

[rick4bama]

Commitment means nothing!

 

[SnakeDoc]

Commitment means nothing!

So . . . You wouldn't leave a job for a better job?

 

[24and7]

Now let’s hire a Secondary Guru!!..

 

[alabama mike]

Wow! That was a short stay on staff.