Alabama strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran has left for a position with the Georgia Bulldogs.
Cochran has left the Crimson Tide for an on-field job with the Georgia Bulldogs on Kirby Smart’s staff. The move comes after spending several years with Nick Saban and winning multiple titles. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
BREAKING: Longtime #Alabama strength coach Scott Cochran is expected to join the #UGA coaching staff, as an on the field coach. Huge move by Kirby
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 24, 2020
Nick Saban plans to tell the @AlabamaFTBL team later Monday afternoon about Scott Cochran leaving for the @GeorgiaFootball special teams job. Cochran’s exit means head trainer Jeff Allen is the lone football staff member remaining that came with Saban to Alabama in 2007.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) February 24, 2020
Scott Cochran, the longtime strength and conditioning coach for @AlabamaFTBL is expected — barring a last-minute change — to leave UA for an on-field coaching position at Georgia per sources. More to come at @tidesports
— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) February 24, 2020
According to Michael Casagrande, Cochran made just under $600,000 last season with the Tide, which means he probably got a substantial raise.
Evolution of Scott Cochran’s salary at Alabama (not adjusted for inflation:
2007: $120,000
2009: $160,000
2010: $210,000
2011: $290,000
2012: $325,000
2014: $395,000
2016: $525,000
2018: $585,000
2019: $595,000— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) February 24, 2020
I have two big observations here. First, I’m not sure why anybody would leave Alabama for Georgia. Yes, I understand he’s getting a promotion to an on-field job, but I still wouldn’t do it.
Nick Saban has built a powerhouse in Tuscaloosa, and he has made the Crimson Tide the most dominant team in the SEC.
Even in a down year like last season, Alabama is still better than the vast majority of the country.
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Secondly, and probably much more importantly, you can bet every dollar you have that Nick Saban isn’t going to like his former assistant Kirby Smart stealing one of his coaches.
This is how wars start, and I can promise you Saban will find a way to retaliate. Coaches moving around happens. That’s the nature of the business, but you don’t take your former employer’s guys unless you’re ready for the ramifications.
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Alabama and Georgia will play September 19. That game just got a hell of a lot more interesting.