Alabama Football: Grading Crimson Tide's Offseason Staff Changes

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Barring any last-minute changes, Alabama’s staff turnover for this offseason is complete.

It was fairly painless and, outside of a nervous week or two waiting on Lane Kiffin, not as apocalyptic as some thought after Alabama was bounced from the College Football Playoff in a convincing Sugar Bowl loss to Ohio State.

So what do these hires bring to the table? Will they work out in the long term? Let’s grade each staff hire and break them down.

Tosh Lupoi: Outside Linebackers

Of all of Alabama’s staff moves, this one seemed to be the most obvious.

Lupoi has proven himself to be an ace recruiter who has experience coaching the position.

He was only technically an “intern” at Alabama because Washington was paying him $300,000 this year as part of a settlement involving NCAA infractions that Lupoi was cleared of. That freed him up to work for Alabama at no charge.

"He's got to be the most qualified recruiting intern in the history of recruiting interns," Brandon Huffman, director of recruiting at Scout.com, told AL.com’s John Talty.

According to Talty, Lupoi played a role in the recruitment of 2015 commitments like quarterback Blake Barnett and Keaton Anderson. He gives Saban another West Coast presence, along with Lane Kiffin.

Lupoi was named Rivals’ Recruiter of the Year in 2010 and was a force during his time at Cal and Washington. Incidentally, he played a big role in swaying wide receiver Keenan Allen away from Alabama in 2010.

On the field, Lupoi helped develop some successful defenses at Cal, mentoring eventual first-rounders Cameron Jordan and Tyson Alualu.

Lupoi hits every mark in what Saban looks for in a position coach.

Grade: A

Mel Tucker: Defensive Backs

It was easy for Alabama’s fanbase to have a knee-jerk reaction to Tucker’s hiring and immediately dismiss it. After all, Tucker’s defenses with the Bears were ranked No. 30 in the NFL in both of his years as defensive coordinator.

But a deeper look at Tucker shows that there is potential for success at the college level.

In 2002, he was defensive backs coach on a defense that was second nationally in points allowed, as the Buckeyes won a national championship. Otherwise, during his four years there, Ohio State’s pass defense was never higher than No. 33 nationally.

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Individually, he had success mentoring defensive backs. Notably, Chris Gamble turned into a first-round NFL draft pick, while players like Dustin Fox and Donnie Nickey were also selected.

He’s also worked with Saban as a defensive backs coach for one year at LSU and two years as a graduate assistant at Michigan State.

He faces a tall task, rebuilding a defensive backfield that gave up more passing yards than any defense in Saban’s time at Alabama. Defensive backs like Geno Smith and Hootie Jones have to take the next step in their development for the Crimson Tide to be successful.

This also means that Kirby Smart will move back to coaching inside linebackers after a yearlong stint in the secondary.

Grade: C+

Jody Wright: Director of Player Personnel

Like Tucker, Wright is a hire that won’t immediately have fans jumping out of their seats. That’s mostly because Wright has never really been in the spotlight to be a guy that people would know off the top of their head.

But Wright has deep ties to Alabama and should be able to navigate the challenges that come with running a recruiting effort the size of the Crimson Tide’s.

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He spent the last two years as recruiting coordinator at Jacksonville State and then the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

Before that, he was a graduate assistant and offensive analyst for Saban at Alabama. Before that, he was a graduate assistant and then director of football operations at Mississippi State.

Wright will “be responsible for the organization of all recruiting efforts,” per a UA release. “Wright will also work with compliance regarding initial eligibility and assist with coaching clinics, camps and other on-campus events.”

It’s a tall task at Alabama, where Saban micromanages everything to a tee for a program that recruits nationwide. But Wright has a track record of doing just that. He shouldn’t be intimidated by a big stage like that.

Saban got a guy he is familiar with and has plenty of experience running recruiting operations.

Grade: B

Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.