On Wednesday, Alabama made official what has long since been reported: Derrick Ansley is the Tide’s next defensive backs coach.

The move became necessary when Kirby Smart took secondary coach Mel Tucker with him to Athens, promoting him to defensive coordinator.

Ansley served as a graduate assistant at Alabama and has stops at Tennessee and Kentucky in his brief coaching career. He played cornerback at in-state school Troy University in the early 2000s and is considered a strong recruiter.

“We are very happy to have Derrick and his family back at Alabama,” Nick Saban said in a statement. “Derrick did an outstanding job when he was with us as a graduate assistant (in 2010 and 2011), and he has a very good understanding of how we run our program and what is expected. He is a bright young coach, and he will be a great addition working with the defensive backs. We also believe he will be a tremendous asset to our staff in the recruiting process.”

Ansley was promoted from cornerbacks coach to secondary coach before last season, then added a co-coordinator title at Kentucky as the Wildcats attempted to protect him. But the chance to work for Saban in his home state was too much to turn down for the 34-year-old native of Tallassee, Ala.

“I have incredible admiration for The University of Alabama and the organization Coach Saban has built, especially after spending a couple of seasons here as a graduate assistant, which was instrumental in my development as a coach. I am so appreciative of the opportunity Coach Saban is giving me because as a defensive coach it doesn’t get any better,” Ansley said in a statement.

“Having grown up in the state of Alabama, I also have a tremendous understanding of the tradition and history of Crimson Tide football and what a special place it is to work. I look forward to doing my part to help continue the success this program has enjoyed.”

After a few down years for the Tide secondary — including 2014, when the team didn’t retain a position coach — Tucker helped develop young talents like Minkah Fitzpatrick and Marlon Humphrey, while guiding a successful transition to safety for Eddie Jackson. Gone are cornerback Cyrus Jones and safety Geno Matias-Smith, but there are plenty of other young players to add to that trio.

To put it another way, Ansley is inheriting a tremendous situation in terms of personnel. He did an excellent job of developing freshman cornerback Chris Westry at UK in 2015, so the feeling is he’ll have a chance to thrive in Tuscaloosa.

His hiring marks the second major change on the Tide defensive staff this offseason. But Ansley and Pruitt have previous experience working under Saban, which should mitigate the loss of continuity with the departure of Smart, a long-time coordinator and an even longer-time Saban staffer.