Alabama's New Hire Opens the Door to Bring in Dynamic Offensive Weapon

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Keep your enemies close, or hire them on your staff.

The Alabama Crimson Tide have poached the Auburn Tigers offensive coordinator, Derrick Nix to join their staff as the wide receivers coach.

In response to the previous WR coach, JaMarcus Shephard leaving Tuscaloosa to become the head coach at Oregon State, head coach Kalen DeBoer decided to bring in Nix.

Top Alabama recruit in the 2026 class, Cederian Morgan seemed to approve of the hire.

After Shephard left, there was a slight concern externally that talent like Morgan was going to look elsewhere. But Morgan doubled down on his commitment to the program, and sees a bright future in Tuscaloosa.

“Just our class that we got,” Morgan told Touchdown Alabama. “I think the number two class in the country and the brotherhood that we got, and I couldn’t see myself building that trust with them and then end up leaving the last week, last day of it. So, I wanted them to know that I’m here from this day. I trust them, and they trust me.” 

Hiring Nix has the potential to result in a domino effect. With Auburn hiring Alex Golesh as its new head coach, there’s expected to be a significant roster turnover.

There have been rumors that Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman, a former five-star recruit, could be eyeing a move elsewhere, and that Tuscaloosa is a legitimate option.

The Crimson Tide is quite familiar with Coleman’s work, as they heavily recruited him, before he decided to land at Texas A&M, and then eventually flipped to Auburn with Nix and then-coach Hugh Freeze.

Coleman is fresh off a career-best season where he hauled in over 700 receiving yards for five touchdowns and over 12 yards per catch.

It was significant because Auburn’s quarterback situation was as in flux as it got. First it started with Jackson Arnold, pivoted to Deuce Knight, and then ended the season with Ashton Daniels.

You have to wonder if transitioning to Alabama could open up doors for Coleman’s game and turn him into a top-tier NFL Draft prospect.

We still don’t know the status of quarterback Ty Simpson for next season. For a while, he was projected to go in the top-five, but after this recent stretch of poor play, an opportunity to get another season may be on the table.

Regardless, even if Simpson moves onto the Draft, Alabama has two exceptional talents at QB in Austin Mack and Keelon Russell. Not only that, there will be a few other QB prospects coming in through the pipeline in Jett Tomalla and Trent Seaborn.

Coming into Tuscaloosa can only help Coleman’s stock for the future, and following the coach that recruited him can solidify a roster spot with the Crimson Tide.

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