Alabama coach Nick Saban has finalized his staff for 2016.
The latest move happened last week as the Crimson Tide hired Derrick Ansley, Kentucky’s co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. Ansley will serve as secondary coach, replacing the departed Mel Tucker. He is an alumni member of Troy University (2005).
Ansley was hired to Kentucky in 2013 and immediately started working with cornerbacks.
He was made a full defensive backs coach in 2015, after the program witnessed its secondary force 23 turnovers (15 interceptions) and total six defensive touchdowns in 2014.
Prior to joining Kentucky, Ansley spent a year at both Central Florida (2011) and Tennessee (2012) as a secondary coach.
His first taste of success on a national level came as a graduate assistant at Alabama. Ansley was hired in 2010 and became an intrical part of the team finishing at 10-3, capping off the season with a 49-7 win over Michigan State in the 2011 Capital One Bowl.
He returned in 2011 to coach a defense that would lead the nation in all five major categories– total defense, scoring defense, rush defense, pass defense and pass efficiency defense– and capture a national championship. Ansley mentored former Crimson Tide standouts Mark Barron, Dre Kirkpatrick and DeQuan Menzie into being All-American selections in 2011. He posted a 22-4 record with the Crimson Tide, before heading to Central Florida in December 2011.
Division III was Ansley’s training ground in head coaching.
He accepted a position at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Ala. shortly after graduating Troy University. He guided the program to its first-ever winning season and playoff appearance, while leading it to four winning seasons in five years (2005-09).
Alabama’s secondary thrived under Mel Tucker in 2015.
The Crimson Tide was +10 in the turnover margin and totaled 19 interceptions with four returned for touchdowns.
With Tucker now in Georgia, Ansley will inherit a talented roster headlined by safeties Eddie Jackson and Ronnie Harrison. He will also gain a trio of experienced cornerbacks in Marlon Humphrey, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Tony Brown.
Stephen M. Smith is a senior analyst and columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @ESPN_Future.
