Alabama is expected to hire sitting Buffalo head coach Maurice Linguist for an assistant role on Kalen DeBoer's new staff, 247Sports reports. Linguist, who is 14-23 in three seasons guiding the Bulls, will likely work with the Crimson Tide's secondary, according to multiple reports.
Linguist would become the third sitting FBS coach poached by Alabama since Saban's decision to step down. In addition to landing DeBoer after a successful two-year stint at Washington, the Crimson Tide also hired South Alabama coach Kane Wommack as the team's new defensive coordinator.
Buffalo is the only head coaching stop for Linguist so far. His career began in 2007 when he served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Baylor. The 39-year-old Linguist has previously worked on defensive staffs at at Valdosta State, James Madison, Iowa State, Mississippi State, Minnesota, Texas A&M and with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. Linguist took the Bulls to a 7-6 finish in 2022 after a 4-8 debut in 2021, but the team regressed to 3-9 in 2023.
The move is the latest in a domino effect that started when Nick Saban's announced his retirement after 17 seasons coaching the Crimson Tide. Washington hired Jedd Fisch from Arizona to replace DeBoer, prompting the Wildcats to subsequently hire Brent Brennan from San Jose State as Fisch's replacement. San Jose State and South Alabama have not yet announced replacements for Brennan and Wommack.