Alabama expected to hire Southern Miss defensive coordinator to UA staff, per report

Austin Armstrong is expected to be joining the Alabama football staff, according to a report.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that Nick Saban is looking to add the Southern Miss defensive coordinator to the Crimson Tide’s on-field coaching staff. Thamel’s report does not specify the role or title for Armstrong if he’s hired at Alabama.

Sources: Southern Miss defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong is expected to be added to the on-field coaching staff at Alabama. He’s a former QC at Georgia and his Southern Miss defense finished Top 5 nationally this year in both sacks and fourth-down conversion defense.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 14, 2023

The youngest defensive coordinator in the country upon his hiring at Southern Miss in 2021, Armstrong recently completed his second season coordinating the Eagles’ “Nasty Bunch” defense. He also coaches the team’s inside linebackers.

In 2019, Armstrong served as a quality control coach on Kirby Smart’s Georgia staff. Following that year, he left to be the inside linebackers coach at Louisiana, where he was a graduate assistant in 2017 and ’18.

In December, Alabama associate defensive coordinator and safeties coach Charles Kelly took the DC position at Colorado on Deion Sanders’ staff. It was reported Friday that Pete Golding, who has been at Alabama since 2018 and defensive coordinator since 2019, is leaving to take the same position at Ole Miss.