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Alabama to hire Chris Kapilovic as OL Coach

Posted on 2/19/24 at 10:39 am
Posted by PowHound
The Peoples Moderator
Member since Jul 2014
7057 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 10:39 am
For people that appreciate not having to dive through megathreads to find huge news such as new coaches and coordinator hires:

Alabama football seems to have found its next offensive line coach in Chris Kapilovic

The longtime offensive line coach is set to join Kalen DeBoer's staff, ESPN reported Monday. Kapilovic had accepted a job at Baylor coaching the offensive line in December, but he won't coach for the Bears, instead going to Tuscaloosa. He spent the 2020 through 2023 seasons at Michigan State.

Prior to working at Michigan State, Kapilovic worked as the offensive line/run-game coordinator at Colorado in 2019. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator/offensive line coach at North Carolina from 2016-2018. That was his senior-most role with the Tarheels; he also worked as co-offensive coordinator/offensive line from 2014-2015 and run-game coordinator/offensive line from 2012-2013.

Other stops for Kapilovic include Southern Miss, Missouri State, Alabama State, Kansas, Phoenix College and Deer Valley (Ariz.) High School. He got his start as a student assistant coach at Missouri State in 1991, where he played offensive tackle.
This post was edited on 2/19/24 at 11:22 am
Posted by PowHound
The Peoples Moderator
Member since Jul 2014
7057 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 10:48 am to
SOG post from the mega thread:

quote:

Looks like his numbers were much better with spread offenses like Fedora's.

Rush YPA/Sacks Allowed National Ranks

2009 Southern Miss - #33/#26
2010 Southern Miss - #32/#25
2011 Southern Miss - #15/#21
2012 North Carolina - #23/#11
2013 North Carolina - #85/#43
2014 North Carolina - #89/#72
2015 North Carolina - #3/#14
2016 North Carolina - #53/#30
2017 North Carolina - #81/#97
2018 North Carolina - #19/#7
2019 Colorado - #80/#41
2020 Michigan State - #124/#61
2021 Michigan State - #41/#27
2022 Michigan State - #89/#34
2023 Michigan State - #126/#71
Posted by PowHound
The Peoples Moderator
Member since Jul 2014
7057 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 10:49 am to
quote:

From VaBamaMan in the megathread


quote:

Michigan State fans shite all over him.when Baylor hired him, and they are doing the same now. The numbers kind of back them up.

2019 Colorado: 99th rushing offense

2020 MSU: 123rd rushing offense

2021 MSU: 53rd rushing offense

2022 MSU: 111th rushing offense

2023 MSU: 127th rushing offense

He was the OL coach and running game coordinator. He had Kenneth fricking Walker and his best was 53rd? That's troublesome...
Posted by PowHound
The Peoples Moderator
Member since Jul 2014
7057 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 10:55 am to
Alabama 2024 assistant coaches
OC/QB — Nick Sheridan (Washington)

Co-OC/WR — JaMarcus Shephard (Washington)

RB — Robert Gillespie (Alabama)

OL — Chris Kapilovic (Baylor)

TE — Bryan Ellis (Georgia Southern)

DC — Kane Wommack (South Alabama)

Co-DC/DB — Maurice Linquist (Buffalo)

Co-DC/DB — Colin Hitschler (Wisconsin

DL — Freddie Roach (Alabama)

LB — William Inge (Washington)
Posted by IB4bama
Pelham
Member since Oct 2017
2006 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 11:07 am to
the numbers were pretty good before Mich St
Posted by TizzyT4theUofA
This side of eternity
Member since Jun 2016
10770 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 11:14 am to
quote:

the numbers were pretty good before Mich St


If you don’t take Mich St into account he would have a good or better OLine 6/11 years and 3 of those years were at southern miss. I hope he’s a good hire and I will trust DeBoar until I have a reason not to but this is a big step down from Huff.
Posted by Joka2kold
Member since Nov 2019
5418 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 11:56 am to
I don't think Michigan State ran a spread offense but I advise you all to go watch the 2015 game between UNC vs Clemson on YouTube.

Focus mainly on UNC offensive line.
Posted by Bham4Tide
In a Van down by the River
Member since Feb 2011
22679 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 12:31 pm to
quote:

2020 Michigan State - #124/#61
2021 Michigan State - #41/#27
2022 Michigan State - #89/#34
2023 Michigan State - #126/#71


Posted by Amarillo Tide
Amarillo, TX
Member since Aug 2023
638 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 12:41 pm to
It’s hard to get good feel for this guy because at all his stops, he wasn’t exactly working with top shelf talent. I’ll reserve judgment until I see how he does after two years.

Doug Marrone was THE worst O line coach I’ve ever seen and Eric Wolford badly underperformed in his time at Bama. If this guy can get our O line be at least pretty good, it’s an improvement over his predecessors.
Posted by Gj4Bama
Roll Tide!
Member since Nov 2006
892 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 12:54 pm to
I concur. Two years will we have a much better sampling to judge him by.
Posted by Sauron
Birmingham
Member since Dec 2015
1035 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 1:59 pm to
quote:

Eric Wolford badly underperformed in his time at Bama.


I don't know very much about the offensive line and coaching, but I thought Wolford did pretty well considering what he was given. Our line performed much better in 2023 as a unit once Jaeden Roberts took over the right guard spot.

The glaring issue, obviously, was snapping, and I honestly don't understand what the deal was there. For the older baseball fans, it reminded me of Steve Sax, second baseman for the Dodgers in the 80s, when he would just somehow forget how to throw to first on routine ground balls. McLaughlin went from being a promising anchor for the line to a significant liability. I dunno how much of that is on Wolford, and how much was just Seth / the yips.
Posted by Bamafig
Member since Nov 2018
3891 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 2:31 pm to
Cap-ill-o-vich
I’m assuming
Posted by mre
Birmingham
Member since Feb 2009
3098 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 2:42 pm to
Oh no. This guy's name is waaaaaay too close to Chris Capps.

Posted by Amarillo Tide
Amarillo, TX
Member since Aug 2023
638 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 2:43 pm to
Yes, the O line improved somewhat but still weren’t all that great. While there were times Milroe was sacked because he held on to the ball too long, they still gave up WAAAAY too many sacks, got whipped way too often and were very inconsistent.

With all that former 4-5 star talent on the roster, there was no excuse to be as erratic, inconsistent and sometimes just plain bad as what Wolford did with them. If Saint Nick hadn’t retired, I’d have been ecstatic to see Wolford canned.
Posted by Bamafig
Member since Nov 2018
3891 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 4:08 pm to
Chris Capps had a penalty flag sewn to his jersey.
Posted by PowHound
The Peoples Moderator
Member since Jul 2014
7057 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 5:10 pm to
Here's what Tim Watts had to add:

quote:

He's going to make the (OL) room tougher immediately. That doesn't take long to notice. Out of the gate, he's going to have them right mentally and with his approach, they will be pushed daily. Very serious old school coach who two described as a "stud" and "alpha" in his room.

Again, "old school" is mentioned multiple times as referring to his work ethic and what he expects. As a teacher, he's "cerebral" who focuses on vertical blocking. Man on man. Very technical but the players get it right away. He simplifies it. He's coached over 30 years and has respect among the other coaches. He's also a nice guy who fits in easily. Very confident in who he is.

We are told before when he decided to take the UA job, he told the Baylor coaching staff members he was leaving despite being there a short time. This earned a lot of respect.

As a recruiter, they described him as "active." Which is always a compliment. Evaluates on the road, on the phone a lot. Doesn't mind working and building relationships. His best evals are the OL, which is common, but he had good opinions on other positions when he saw them.
Posted by PowHound
The Peoples Moderator
Member since Jul 2014
7057 posts
Posted on 2/19/24 at 5:21 pm to
Kapilovic played a major role in leading Michigan State to an 11-2 (7-2 Big Ten) record in 2021, which saw the Spartans finish in the top 10 in the national polls. His offensive line paved the way for Doak Walker Award winner and Walter Camp Player of the Year, Kenneth Walker III, in a record-setting 2021 season that saw him rush for 1,636 yards and 18 scores.

Pronounced kuh-pill-oh-vick, Kapilovic spent the 2019 season at Colorado as the offensive line coach and run-game coordinator. This came following a seven-year run at North Carolina, which saw him start out as the run-game coordinator and offensive line coach before a promotion to co-offensive coordinator in 2014. UNC went 11-3 (8-0 ACC) in 2015.

In 2016, Kapilovic was promoted to assistant head coach and offensive coordinator while still working with the offensive line. His offense twice set North Carolina school records for points per game and total offense, while his 2018 line only allowed 10 sacks on the season.

Kapilovic also coached the offensive lines at Alabama State (2001-02), Missouri State (2006-07) and Southern Miss (2008-11) while serving as the run-game coordinator at both Missouri State and Southern Miss. He graduated from Missouri State with a degree in education in 1990 and became a student assistant coach the following season in 1991.
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