Tag: graduate assistant

Former Alabama graduate assistant hired as Western Michigan’s new head coach

Former Nick Saban assistant and Alabama wide receiver Lance Taylor has been hired as Western Michigan’s next head coach. Taylor played for Alabama from ’99-’03.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban has seen a number of his former assistants hired to become head coaches elsewhere. On Thursday, Western Michigan announced that the program hired Lance Taylor to be the next head coach of the program.

Taylor was a graduate assistant during his time at Alabama. Before that, he was a walk-on wide receiver for the Tide. He played under former head coach Mike Shula from 1999-2003.

Several years later, Taylor began his coaching career as a graduate assistant. He served on Saban’s staff from 2007-2008 before being hired as the wide receivers coach at Appalachian State.

Since his coaching career began, Taylor has had several larger coaching roles. He was Stanford’s running backs coach for three years. Notre Dame hired him to be the team’s running backs coach and run game coordinator. Most recently, he was the offensive coordinator at Louisville.

Now, he will be heading to Kalamazoo to lead the Broncos. This season, the team finished with a 5-7 record. Taylor and his staff will look to change that next season as he looks to build an identity for his program.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football news.

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Pete Carroll receives honorary doctorate degree from his alma mater

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from his alma mater, the University of the Pacific.

The Seattle Seahawks players aren’t the only ones worthy of praise for their accomplishments this offseason – their head coach is as well. Over the weekend, coach Pete Carroll received an honorary doctorate degree from his alma mater, the University of the Pacific.

“I’m not quite sure how I feel about this,” Carroll joked. “They want to call me a doctor, but that might be a bit of a stretch.”

At Pacific, Carroll received his bachelor’s degree in business administration, his master’s in physical education and a secondary teaching credential. He spent two years as a free safety on the Pacific football team and later as a graduate assistant on the coaching staff.

“Go forth and don’t hold back,” Carroll said. “Make the most of it. Enjoy your time here, but go forth. That means putting in the hard work, the preparation, and the dedication it takes to get it done.”

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Oregon to hire Auburn GA Brent Jackson to work with defensive backs

The Oregon Ducks made another addition to their coaching ranks, hiring Brent Jackson away from Auburn to work with the defensive backs.

Oregon Ducks football coach Dan Lanning continues to fill out his coaching staff as the start of spring football draws near.

His latest hire is former Auburn graduate assistant Brent Jackson, who is joining the Ducks as a graduate assistant working with the defensive backs, according to Matt Zenitz of On3.

Jackson spent one season at Auburn, after spending two years prior to that at Illinois and four years at Louisiana before that.

Jackson is expected to work under Oregon co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Matt Powledge, as well as special teams coordinator and nickel coach Joe Lorig, with cornerback coach and passing game coordinator Demetrice Martin in the mix as well.

Oregon has had to replace a huge chunk of their coaching ranks since the end of the 2021 season, with Mario Cristobal departing for Miami, which paved the way for offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead to leave for the head coaching job at Akron and defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter to head to Texas Tech.

Jackson is the latest in a long string of new hires on Lanning’s staff, that is hoping to revamp this team’s identity while keeping them competitive in the Pac-12 for the short and the long term.

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