Bama Central

Alabama Closing in on New Strength and Conditioning Coach

Nick Saban didn't even need a week to find Scott Cochran's replacement

Christopher Walsh

Indiana Athletics

The search for Scott Cochran's replacement may already to be over. 

HoosiersNow.com, the SportsIllustrated site covering Indiana athletics, reported on Saturday afternoon that Alabama has offered David Ballou the job as the football program's new strength and conditioning coach.

Dr. Matt Rhea, Indiana’s Athletic Performance Coach, was expected to go to Alabama with Ballou, sources told the website.

When contacted, Alabama officials did not confirm that Ballou's addition was imminent. However, BamaCentral verified that he had been targeted for the position and an official announcement could come at any time. 

Ballou, a former fullback at Indiana, is in his third season as the Hoosier's football’s director of athletic performance.

He previously spent 2017 as Notre Dame’s co-director of football strength and conditioning after a 14-year stint as the head strength and conditioning coach at Avon High School (Ind.). Ballou also worked at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Several Indiana coaches have said that Ballou and Rhea “basically add a star to all those recruiting ratings.” Ballou told HoosiersNow last October that he uses a lot of technology and analytics in his weight room, but that “anyone can collect data. It’s what you do with it that’s so important.’’

He said: “You are never ever ever going to prevent injuries in this sport, but there are things you can do to see certain red flags upfront and do something to fix it before anything happens,’’ said Ballou, who said dozens of guys are posting their best power numbers this late in the season.

“Look, we’re a developmental program here and we felt like we could still make up a lot of ground during the season and be able to be strong when the middle and end of the season gets here. It allows us to finish a season the way we want to."

Cochran notified Alabama on Monday that he was leaving to be the special teams coordinator at Georgia. He had been with Nick Saban for all six of national titles, as he served as an assistant at LSU in 2003.

“We appreciate Scott’s contribution to our organization over the last 13 years," Saban said in a statement. "We can’t thank him enough for his service and dedication to our program, and his commitment to our players. He is taking his career in a new direction, and we wish Scott, Cissy and the kids the best.

"As we do with every position that opens here, we will go out and hire the best person to lead our strength and conditioning program and help our players maximize the resources available in our new sports science facility.”

Cochran's initial salary at Alabama was $120,000, but he received frequent raises. Last season he was one of nation's highest-paid strength and conditioning coaches at $595,000.

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Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.

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