Alabama's Defense Won't Miss a Beat with New Defensive Coordinator Jeremy Pruitt

When former defensive coordinator Kirby Smart left Alabama to take over as the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs the day after the Crimson Tide's SEC Championship Game win over Florida, head coach Nick Saban was charged with making his biggest coaching hire since he tabbed Lane Kiffin to run the offense prior to the 2014 season.

As was the case with Kiffin, Saban hit a home run.

Former Georgia defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt could essentially just exchange house keys with Smart. Alabama announced Pruitt as the Crimson Tide's new defensive coordinator via an emailed release Friday afternoon.

"We are excited to announce that Jeremy Pruitt has rejoined our staff at Alabama as defensive coordinator," Saban said in the statement. "He did an outstanding job in the six years he was with us and did the same at Florida State and Georgia after that. Jeremy is obviously an excellent defensive coach and also does a great job in terms of recruiting and developing relationships with players. We're pleased and happy to have Jeremy and his family back in Tuscaloosa."

Brett Davis/Associated Press

Pruitt won a national championship with Florida State in his first year as a coordinator in 2013 and followed it up by leading two top-20 defenses for Georgia in 2014 and 2015.

He's no stranger to Saban or Alabama. He was on Saban's staff for his first six seasons in Tuscaloosa from 2007 to 2012, including the final three as the Crimson Tide's defensive backs coach.

"This is a special opportunity for me to come back to the University of Alabama," Pruitt said in the statement. "Growing up in the state and having played and coached here, I have a great appreciation for Alabama football. Coach Saban's success speaks for itself, and I wouldn't be where I am today without the chance he gave me to join his staff back in 2007."

John Amis/Associated Press

He has big shoes to fill. After all, Smart produced top-12 defenses in each of his eight years as the Tide defensive coordinator.

Pruitt is fully capable of doing so.

He inherited a Georgia pass defense that was atrocious prior to his arrival (227.4 yards per game in 2013) and posted the conference's second-best pass defense in 2014 (170.4 YPG) and best in 2015 (146.1 YPG). He has kept Georgia competitive over the last two seasons, despite massive injuries on the other side of the ball and very little help from the Bulldog offense.

He proved over the last three years at two different spots with offensive-minded head coaches (Jimbo Fisher at Florida State and Mark Richt at Georgia) that he can take control of his side of the ball and produce championship-level defenses.

Year	Team	Total Defense	Total D Nat'l Rank	YPP	YPP Nat'l Rank
2013	FSU	281.4 YPG	3	4.09	2
2014	UGA	337.2 YPG	17	4.84	17
2015	UGA	298.0 YPG	8	4.70	12

In fact, Alabama might be beneath him at this point.

That's not a knock against the program, but Saban has his fingerprints on the defense, and Pruitt will have to adjust to that input after not having to deal with it for the last three years.

It shouldn't be an issue, though, because whether it's Pruitt doing it alone or Saban and Pruitt working together, the combination of brilliant defensive minds and the best defensive talent in college football should keep the Crimson Tide defense as one of the nation's best.

From a recruiting standpoint, Pruitt is a grand slam.

The list of players he's been responsible for recruiting reads like an All-Decade team. His 247Sports profile lists Derrick Henry, Jalen Ramsey, T.J. Yeldon, Lorenzo Carter, Reggie Ragland, Roquan Smith, C.J. Mosley, D.J. Pettway and Matthew Thomas as just a few of the players he's responsible for signing during his time at Alabama, Florida State and Georgia.

What's more, that kind of recruiting prowess could be beneficial in combating any advantage Smart has by moving to Georgia.

Saban is living right.

His team rebounded from that Week 3 loss to Ole Miss, ran the table, won the SEC title and earned a spot in its second straight College Football Playoff.

The cherry on top is filling a massive hole in the coaching staff by reeling in the biggest fish in the coordinator pond.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.