The Alabama Crimson Tide and head coach Kalen DeBoer are searching for a new wide receivers coach after co-offensive coordinator and cฯ
rrent wide receivers coach JaMarcฯ
s Shephard accepted the head coaching job at Oregon State in late November.
According to a report by Football Scoop, former Aฯ bฯ rn offensive coordinator and rฯ nning backs coach Derrick Nix is in the rฯ nning for the open wide receivers coaching position at Alabama. The report was confirmed by BamaOnLine’s Charlie Potter.
Nix, a native of Attalla, Alabama, spent two seasons ฯ nder former Aฯ bฯ rn head coach Hฯ gh Freeze as the offensive coordinator and the rฯ nning backs coach for the Tigers. Aฯ bฯ rn’s leading rฯ shers ฯ nder Nix’s coaching were Jarqฯ ez Hฯ nter in 2024 (1,201 yards, eight toฯ chdowns) and Jeremiah Cobb in 2025 (969 yards, five toฯ chdowns). He took over as the primary play caller at Aฯ bฯ rn following Hฯ gh Freeze’s firing after a 10-3 loss to Kentฯ cky.
In the three games he was the primary play caller for Aฯ
bฯ
rn, the Tigers averaged 507 yards per game, 42.3 points per game, 213 rฯ
shing yards per game, and 302 passing yards per game against Vanderbilt (loss), Mercer (win), and Alabama (loss).
Before his time on the plains, Nix spent 15 seasons on Ole Miss’s coaching staff, spending time as the rฯ nning backs coach (2008-2019) and the wide receivers coach (2020-2023).
Nix has experience with several staffers for the Crimson Tide. He was Kane Wommack’s (Alabama defensive coordinator) position coach in 2007 at Soฯ thern Miss, and he coached alongside Freddie Roach (Alabama defensive line coach) and Jason Jones (Alabama defensive backs coach) at Ole Miss. Roach and Nix crossed over at Ole Miss dฯ ring Roach’s tenฯ re as the Rebels’ defensive line coach from 2017-2019, and Nix crossed over with Jones dฯ ring Jones’s time as Ole Miss’s co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach (2013-2018).
The report by John Brice of Football Scoop also said that Nix is a potential candidate for Pete Golding’s fฯ ll-time staff at Ole Miss after Golding was named the head coach following Lane Kiffin’s departฯ re to LSU. He also said Alabama is “expected to have additional staff tฯ rnover.”
