re: Official Alabama assistant coaching search thread: staff complete Edition

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Saban on the possibility of hiring Hugh Freeze: "I don't really have a comment on that right now. I think Hugh Freeze is a really good coach, so we'll keep evaluating and trying to make our staff as strong as we can make it"

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MOBILE, Ala. -- For a third offseason in a row, Alabama has had to replace its offensive coordinator.

One-year play-caller Brian Daboll elected to return to the NFL and an area of the country he was raised by accepting the same position with the Buffalo Bills after the national title game.

At Wednesday’s Senior Bowl practice at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Nick Saban thanked Daboll for his one season.

“Brian did a great job for us,” Saban said. “We’re happy for him. He’s obviously ended up a lot better off for having come to our place, being a coordinator for a year, did a great job and now he has an opportunity to be a coordinator in the NFL.

“So, we’re happy for him and his family.”

With Daboll’s departure, Alabama will promote co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach Mike Locksley to call plays in 2018, although the move has not been confirmed by Saban nor the university. The only two hires the Tide has made public are defensive assistant Pete Golding and special teams coordinator Jeff Banks. They were announced by releases.

Saban said to expect the same for the rest of his additions. As for when, he wouldn’t elaborate.

“No, I’ll elaborate on it when I’m ready to elaborate on it,” Saban said. “That’s called a release. Is that alright with you?”

Whenever the Locksley hire is made official, though, Saban was complimentary of the next coordinator.

“He’s been a great addition to our staff,” Saban said. “He’s been a coordinator before, he’s been a head coach. He’s great with the players, he’s a very good teacher, he’s a good recruiter. He’s got great knowledge of several offenses. Some of the stuff that we do were things that he was able to implement and have knowledge of. So, we’re excited about what he brings.”

Locksley inherits an offense that returns starters along the offensive line (4), at tight end (2), at running back and the two quarterbacks that played in the 2017 season. The trio of freshmen that contributed in the title game, which Locksley coached, are also back.

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MOBILE, Ala. -- DaeSean Hamilton laughed when asked how his former position coach at Penn State was off the field when the receiver was, himself, exiting the field at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

The NFL draft hopeful spent the last four years playing under wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Josh Gattis for the Nittany Lions. But Gattis, 34, is set to coach the wideouts at Alabama this fall as a member of Nick Saban’s 2018 coaching staff.

Hamilton knows his now-former coach will relate well to the Crimson Tide players.

“He tries to keep up with the young crowd,” said Hamilton with a smile at the 2018 Reese’s Senior Bowl. “He always is joking, and all the guys love him that he’s coached.

“He’s real friendly and takes us out to eat and things of that sort. So, Coach Gattis knows how to appease to his guys and relate to us, and everyone enjoys playing for him.”

Alabama has yet to make the hire official with an announcement, but based off the changes to his Twitter profile and the social media goodbye to Penn State, Gattis is Tuscaloosa bound.

Although he was among the top recruiters at Penn State, signing one of the nation’s top wide receivers classes and the top player at the position in 5-star Justin Shorter, he doesn’t only bring a relatable personality to Saban’s staff. Hamilton can also vouch for Gattis’ ability to develop the players under his tutelage, like himself and Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie Chris Godwin.

A former wide receiver himself, Gattis’ wideouts helped Penn State claim the 2016 Big Ten title. Godwin broke the Nittany Lions’ junior record and was second on the program’s season charts with 11 touchdowns catches that season -- Gattis’ third at Penn State.

This past season, Hamilton became Penn State’s all-time leader in receptions (204) and ended his college career with at least one catch in 49-of-51 games. He was also only the ninth player in Penn State history to eclipse the 2,000-yard career receiving mark.

“Coach Gattis, he’s going to do a great job at Alabama,” Hamilton said Wednesday following the South team’s second practice. “He did a great job at Penn State. Obviously he has several guys in the NFL right now that did great in their college careers, as well.

“Coach Gattis, he’s going to go Alabama … and on top of that, being the great receiver coach he already was, he’s going to carry that momentum from Penn State and bring it to Alabama.”

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Sources tell @FootballScoop that Dan Enos is a strong candidate to join the Alabama staff Enos recently accepted an offensive assistant position at Michigan, so this could get interesting

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Alabama head coach Nick Saban announced the hiring ofbJosh Gattis on Thursday to coach wide receivers for the Crimson Tide.

“Josh Gattis is an outstanding addition to our coaching staff,” Saban said in a release. “He is a sharp, young coach who did a great job at Penn State and Vanderbilt before that, and we believe he will bring great energy to our program. He is an excellent recruiter and knows what he is doing in terms of coaching wide receivers and building relationships with the players. We are happy to welcome his wife Tesa and their son Jace to the Crimson Tide program.”

Gattis brings eight years of experience to Alabama, spending six of those seasons working under James Franklin. The last four seasons, Gattis has served as the wide receivers and passing game coordinator along with leading the offensive recruiting efforts for Penn State. During his time in Happy Valley, Gattis helped the Nittany Lions secure four consecutive top-25 recruiting classes, including a pair of top-15 classes in two of the last three seasons. He was selected by Scout.com as the 2015 Big Ten Recruiter of the Year.

Under his tutelage, Chris Godwin broke the Penn State record for juniors with 11 touchdown catches in 2016. During that same season, Godwin amassed 982 receiving yards on his to way to earning Second Team All-Big 10 accolades in 2016. Godwin would finish his career ranked fourth in Penn State annals for career receiving yards (2,404) and touchdowns (18), while ranking sixth in receptions at 153.

“It is a tremendous opportunity to work for Coach Saban and The University of Alabama,” Gattis said in a release. “Coach Saban’s program is the epitome of success and consistency, and to have the chance to be part of that and learn from him is truly a blessing. I am also excited for the chance to work with an outstanding group of players, and I look forward to getting out on that field and coaching.”

Prior to his time with the Nittany Lions, Gattis spent two years on the Vanderbilt staff with Franklin starting in 2012. Serving as the wide receivers coach for the Commodores, Gattis helped Jordan Matthews to All-America accolades twice. Matthews would end his career as the SEC’s leader in receptions (262) and receiving yards (3,759) while also setting the single-season mark for receptions with 107 in 2013.

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