Scott Cochran shocked many when he left Alabama this offseason for Georgia but the former Crimson Tide strength coach had reportedly wanted to make the move for some time.

Cochran is now serving as Georgia’s special teams coordinator after being Nick Saban’s only head strength coach at Alabama, which dates back to 2007. The two men have been credited as the two biggest forces in the current Crimson Tide dynasty but now they will be competing for the first time in 2020.

According to a recent in-depth article by Matt Zenitz and John Talty of AL.com, while Cochran’s departure from Tuscaloosa may have been a surprise to many, it was years in the making for Saban’s longtime assistant.

It’s been previously reported that Cochran tried to get on Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss staff this offseason as a position coach but according to AL.com, Cochran also interviewed for position roles with the New York Giants and Michigan State. AL.com is also reporting that Cochran has been seeking a new role dating back to at least 2018.

It’s unclear how serious Kiffin looked at hiring Cochran but Ole Miss landed one of the nation’s most experienced special teams coordinators in former Houston assistant, Blake Gideon. Considering Cochran has no on-field coaching experience, that likely was an easy decision for Kiffin to make when it came to building his first Ole Miss coaching staff.

If AL.com’s reporting is accurate, it paints a picture of an assistant coach eager to move on from Alabama and out from under Saban’s massive shadow in Tuscaloosa.

While the timing of Cochran’s move — he left in the middle of Alabama’s key strength and conditioning period leading up to spring camp — appears on the surface to be strategic by Kirby Smart and his Georgia program to hurt the Crimson Tide, if Cochran truly was burnt out coaching with the Crimson Tide, moving on may prove to be the best thing for all parties involved.