Alabama hires Jeremy Pruitt as defensive coordinator
Jeremy Pruitt is trading schools with Kirby Smart.
Alabama announced Friday that it has hired Georgia defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt to take the same position. Kirby Smart, Alabama's longtime defensive coordinator, is leaving after the College Football Playoff to take the head coaching job at Georgia.
Pruitt worked at Alabama under coach Nick Saban and Smart from 2007-2012. He spent his final three seasons with the school as the team's defensive backs coach.
“We are excited to announce that Jeremy Pruitt has rejoined our staff at Alabama as defensive coordinator,” Saban said in a statement. “He did an outstanding job in the six years he was with us and did the same at Florida State and Georgia after that. Jeremy is obviously an excellent defensive coach, and also does a great job in terms of recruiting and developing relationships with players. We're pleased and happy to have Jeremy and his family back in Tuscaloosa.”
Pruitt, 41, spent the past two seasons in Athens working under Mark Richt. He was hired when defensive coordinator Todd Grantham left to become the defensive coordinator at Louisville with coach Bobby Petrino. He came to Georgia from Florida State, where he was the DC when the Seminoles won the BCS Championship.
"This is a special opportunity for me to come back to the University of Alabama," Pruitt said. "Growing up in the state and having played and coached here, I have a great appreciation for Alabama football. Coach Saban's success speaks for itself and I wouldn't be where I am today without the chance he gave me to join his staff back in 2007. We are excited to get back to Tuscaloosa and be a part of one of the outstanding programs in college athletics."
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Smart played football at Georgia and has been on Saban's staff since the coach came to Tuscaloosa. He replaces Richt, who parted ways with the school after 15 seasons. As Richt's future became tenuous, there were reports of heightened tensions between Richt and Pruitt. The speculation led to Richt tweeting that Pruitt was still Georgia's defensive coordinator.
Alabama's defense was No. 2 in the country in total defense (258 yards per game) while Georgia's was eighth. The Bulldogs allowed just 146 passing yards per game, a mark that was the best in the country. Since Alabama and Georgia played each other in 2015, the two schools aren't scheduled to meet in the regular season until 2020.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
