New Alabama Offensive Coaching Additions “Know How it Should Look”

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama Crimson Tide had to find three new on-field coaches for the 2026 season. Alabama fired offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic, while quarterbacks coach Nick Sheridan took the offensive coordinator job at Michigan State, and wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard took the head coaching job at Oregon State.

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Alabama replaced Shephard first, hiring former Auburn offensive coordinator and running backs coach Derrick Nix as the Tide's wide receivers coach. Nix has coached in the SEC since 2008, with experience in various roles at Ole Miss and Auburn. After Shephard, Alabama replaced Sheridan with then-Alabama tight ends coach Bryan Ellis, and replaced Ellis with former Louisville offensive line coach Richard Owens, who made stops at Arkansas, UAB, South Alabama, Louisville, and Georgia Southern before finding a home in Tuscaloosa for the 2026 season. The final opening Alabama had was its offensive line coach, which the Tide filled with former offensive lineman Adrian Klemm. Klemm has experience in both college football and the NFL, with stops at SMU, Oregon, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the New England Patriots. He was an offensive analyst at USC before Alabama hired him to fix its offensive line.

All three bring something different to the table, and their experience, expertise, and communication efficiency stood out to Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer.

"Just coming in, three guys on offense, Nix, Owens, and Klemm, just, I think there's a mindset that they have, experience factor that they have. Whether it's at this level or the NFL, and they know what it's supposed to look like," DeBoer said on Tuesday.

“I think the thing that jumps out at me is, with them in particular, is how efficient they can be. And I think the great coaches can identify something, articulate it very quickly. It makes sense to the player, not putting too much in their head so they can't play fast, but you're coaching, and that's your job. And so, the players are supposed to compete and grind and refine what they're doing. They're taking it all in because they do see the expertise that these coaches have.”

Klemm, Nix, and Owens will have their work cut out for them as all three will need to help Alabama replace key starters in each room. Nix will have to replace Germie Bernard and Isaiah Horton at wide receiver, Owens will need to replace Josh Cuevas at tight end, and Klemm's job might be the hardest of all, with just one returning starter on the offensive line in sophomore Michael Carroll.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.