Alabama continues to rebuild its coaching staff after a slew of departures. Of course, that’s part of winning a national championship, and Nick Saban has a fantastic track record of reloading the staff.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t a headache, however. But the good news is that it looks like the Crimson Tide have found a new running backs coach. According to Bruce Feldman with The Athletic, it will be Robert Gillespie from North Carolina.
SOURCE: #UNC RB coach Robert Gillespie is set to become the new running backs coach at #Alabama.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 24, 2021
The move was desperately needs after associate head coach/running backs coach Charles Huff left to take the head coaching gig at Marshall. He had been in Tuscaloosa for two seasons after coming over form Mississippi State.
Gillespie has done fantastic work for the Tar Heels. He spent three seasons in Chapel Hill, and the results were impressive. His first year was somewhat underwhelming, but look the stats for Michael Carter and Javonte Williams over the last two:
- Carter: 2,248 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns
- Javonte Williams: 2,073 rushing yards, 24 touchdowns
The two combined for 2,385 yards and 28 touchdowns in only 11 games in 2020, and they also added another 572 yards and five scores as receivers out of the backfield.
Prior to his time at North Carolina, Gillespie was at the University of Tennessee. There, he worked with running backs such as Alvin Kamara, Jalen Hurd and John Kelly.
Gillespie should be an excellent replacement for Huff.
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