Inside the Process that Led Cochran to Georgia - Zenitz, AL.com

Inside the process that led Scott Cochran to leave Alabama for Georgia
Updated 7:36 AM

By John Talty | jtalty@al.com and Matt Zenitz | mzenitz@al.com

After more than a decade working under Nick Saban at Alabama, Scott Cochran was frustrated and ready to do something different to the point he willingly took a pay cut to make it happen.

While Cochran leaving the Crimson Tide for Georgia stunned the Alabama fan base, it’s the kind of move the Tide’s long-time strength and conditioning coach had been considering since at least 2018.

In recent years, Cochran had become enamored with the idea of making the switch to being an on-field assistant, which started to look like more of a realistic possibility when he engaged in discussions with Lane Kiffin about Ole Miss’ special teams coordinator job in December.

Cochran had a strong relationship with Kiffin dating back to their shared Alabama days and liked the idea of starting his new career at an SEC school. If he was ever going to accomplish his goal of becoming a head coach, he knew he’d have to make the move out of the weight room and Ole Miss represented a perfect opportunity to do so.

Why Cochran ultimately didn’t end up at Ole Miss is a hot topic in the coaching world with multiple narratives emerging in the aftermath. Cochran told those close to him he was in position to get the job and that outside forces intervened to squash the hire, according to sources.

Other sources close to the situation strongly dispute that and have indicated that Kiffin simply opted to go in a different direction and instead hired Houston’s Blake Gideon, who was Football Scoop’s 2019 special teams coordinator of the year. There were discussions between Cochran and Ole Miss, but no official offer was ever extended, according to those sources.

Regardless of what happened between Ole Miss and Cochran, it solidified in his mind it was time to move on. Cochran had weighed the pros and cons of the move and eventually became all-in on the idea of being an on-field coach at Ole Miss. When it didn’t happen, there was a diminished interest in returning to his role as Alabama’s strength and conditioning coach and an increased desire to find an on-field opportunity.

“He made his mind up, ‘I’m leaving, I’m done with the strength thing and dealing with Coach Saban,’" a source with knowledge of the situation said. “Once you do that, when the (Ole Miss) thing didn’t happen, when you go back, you find all the problems magnified.”

After the Ole Miss discussions became public, Saban called Cochran in for a meeting and asked whether he really wanted to make the switch to an on-field job. When Cochran said he did, Saban told him he wouldn’t be comfortable hiring him as an on-field assistant at that point in time, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. The advice from Saban was that if Cochran wanted to become a special teams coach, he should start attending Alabama’s special teams meetings and invest time into learning the intricacies of the position. Cochran left the conversation upset and convinced he wouldn’t be getting an on-field opportunity at Alabama given he believed he had already spent a lot of time around special teams.

It was part of growing friction between Saban and Cochran that seemed to come to a head around that point. Cochran was mentally ready to leave after the Ole Miss situation. Saban, meanwhile, had concerns about numbers and results from a strength and conditioning standpoint and wanted tweaks made to the program. Sources said Saban began “riding Cochran mercilessly in front of staff."

At this point, Cochran was even more determined to find an on-field opportunity elsewhere. Cochran pursued job opportunities with Michigan State and the New York Giants but neither worked out, per sources.

When Georgia lost special teams coach Scott Fountain to Arkansas, it opened up an attractive job to work for long-time friend Kirby Smart. The two had lost touch some over the years as the friendship took a hit when Cochran turned down an opportunity in 2015 to join Smart in Athens. But over the last year, Cochran worked to rebuild the relationship with the Georgia head coach. When he saw an opening, Cochran sold Smart hard on the benefits of hiring him as special teams coordinator despite his limited experience. It helped that Smart had already been thinking about the radical move when he heard about the discussions between Cochran and Ole Miss, according to sources.

Once he had Smart on board with the hire, Cochran met with Saban to inform him of his intention to leave Alabama last Monday. Saban quickly became resigned to the fact he couldn’t do anything to keep his trusted lieutenant when he realized Cochran had already made up his mind. Contrary to a narrative that’s begun to emerge in light of Cochran taking a pay cut to go to Georgia, Saban didn’t force Cochran out.

“Saban really wanting him out is so not true,” one source said. “At all.”

In the aftermath of Cochran’s decision to leave for Georgia, a public relations battle has emerged. Cochran posted a hype video earlier this week on his “new mission,” highlighting the six national championships and 36 NFL first round picks during his time at Alabama and LSU. A day later in a release announcing Cochran’s replacements, Saban said it was “imperative that we adopt and integrate advancements in the field of strength and conditioning that will provide elite training, while better protecting our players from injuries and helping them develop and perform at a higher level.”

Alabama hasn’t been shy about pointing out it’ll be pivoting to a more scientific approach to strength and conditioning that could help cut down on injuries after dealing with a rash of injuries over the last two seasons.

Cochran, meanwhile, clearly won’t hesitate to use his time at Alabama to bolster Georgia’s recruiting efforts, including against his former boss.

It’s the new reality where Cochran has his opportunity to be an on-field coach and Alabama moves to a new strength and conditioning approach after 13 years of the same man barking out orders.

The way it ended left hard feelings on both sides but it has the potential to give both what they want.

This post was edited on 3/5/20 at 7:43 am