An Alabama Crimson Tide legend in his own right has been named the head coach of a college football program not far from Tuscaloosa.
Scott Cochran was announced as the head coach at West Alabama on Monday. The 45-year-old Cochran was Alabama’s strength and conditioning coach from 2007-2019 under Nick Saban. He joined Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs coaching staff in February 2020.
Known for his trademark booming voice and equally colorful antics on the sidelines and during practice while at Alabama, Cochran would spend four years as special teams coach at Georgia through the end of the 2023 season.
That Cochran left Alabama for Georgia of all programs was somewhat ironic.
During the week leading up to Alabama’s 41-30 statement win over No. 3 Georgia at Sanford Stadium in Athens on Sept. 27, 2008, the “Blackout” game in which the Bulldogs wore black jerseys as a gimmick, Cochran was overheard telling players: “They wearin’ black jerseys because they know they goin’ to a f—ing funeral.”
Sure enough, Alabama jumped out to a stunning 31-0 halftime lead over Georgia. The Tide would finish the regular season 12-0 and ranked No. 1 in the polls before falling to Tim Tebow and the national champion Florida Gators in the SEC Championship Game.
Years later, Cochran was asked about the “funeral” comment after joining Georgia’s coaching staff and said:
“In reality, I think in that moment it was kind of make or break. I wasn’t planning on it becoming public at all, but at the same time when it did, I was scared to death. I was 29 years old, I think. Whew. I thought I was going to lose my job.”
Also during Cochran’s time at Alabama? He destroyed a runner-up trophy that was given to the team after the Crimson Tide lost to Clemson in the national championship game in January 2017. The Tigers won 35-31 on a game-winning touchdown from Deshaun Watson to Hunter Renfrow with one second left.
More recently, Cochran has spoken of overcoming an addiction to painkillers, something he opened up about to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Marty Smith back in September.
Cochran addressed those struggles in his statement following Monday’s coaching announcement.
“My own personal struggles have given me a unique perspective that allows me to expertly develop players and prepare them to go to the next level. I get to know players better than they know themselves, and I feel that I have something to give back through head coaching. This is more than just a job for me; it’s a calling to help young men grow both on and off the field.”
West Alabama is a member of the Division II Gulf South Conference. Cochran takes over from Brett Gilliland, who spent 12 seasons as head coach before stepping down to become athletic director. The Tigers finished 9-2 a season ago and made the Division II playoffs.
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