After a year of mediocre performance from the receiving corps and the departure of JaMarcus Shepherd, Kalen DeBoer’s Crimson Tide officially decided to roll the dice on former Auburn offensive coordinator Derrick Nix as the new wide receivers coach earlier today. The hiring of Nix comes with a “life comes full circle” moment for Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, as the two coaches go way back.

“Alabama DC Kane Wommack last month: “I think the world of Derrick Nix … I’ve known him since I was probably seven, eight years old. Got great family ties. My sister actually was a surrogate for him and his wife, and carried their daughter Ava.” (Per Mike Rodak on December 16)

That’s a bond you don’t find every day in the competitive world of college sports, especially in college football.

Their professional paths have also crossed multiple times over the decades. Nix was actually Wommack’s position coach back in 2007 when Wommack played fullback at Southern Miss. Later, they worked together on the same staff at Ole Miss in 2012 and 2013, alongside Wommack’s father, Dave.

Even their older relatives are linked: Nix’s brother, Tyrone, coached with Wommack’s father at Southern Miss and South Carolina.

Derrick Nix’s coaching journey is one of pure resilience. After a record-breaking playing career at Southern Miss was cut short by a life-threatening kidney disease, he received a transplant from his brother and turned to coaching back in around 2003.

He spent 15 years in Oxford (2008–2023) developing elite NFL talent like Elijah Moore, AJ Brown, DK Metcalf, and Jonathan Mingo before heading to Auburn in 2024 to become a first-time play-caller.

Wommack has also had a similar rise through the ranks. Before joining Alabama in 2024, he was the head coach at South Alabama (2021–2023), where he led the team to its first-ever 10-win season.

He also spent time as a defensive coordinator at Indiana and Eastern Illinois. There, he developed the so-called ‘swarm’ defense. Now, these lifelong friends and family-connected colleagues are working together on the same sideline in Tuscaloosa.

Mind you, he won’t be on the sidelines until next season. The question now is whether Alabama’s wide receivers can save themselves in the playoffs.

Can the Alabama WR corps come through in the playoffs?

Alabama’s offense has a real chance to turn things around in the playoffs. But they definitely have some work to do. They’ve got a ton of talent, especially on the offensive line with guys like Kadyn Proctor, who should protect QB Ty Simpson and open up some running lanes if the running backs can stay healthy.

The wide receiver room is also super gifted, full of playmakers like Germie Bernard and Ryan Williams who can absolutely break a game open. The question is, can they step up in the clutch plays?

Truth be told, consistency has been a glaring issue lately. The offense has looked pretty mediocre in the second part of the season, especially in the third-down conversions (44.44% conversion rate overall but just 21.43% in the recent SEC title loss).

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Plus, they can’t rely on their running game at this point, unfortunately. The running corps just racked -3 rushing yards against Georgia in the SEC title game. Their WR1 superstar wideout, Ryan Williams, has been a bit off-form. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will now need to figure out how to get the ball into his stride.

Whether Alabama can make a deep run comes down to execution. If they can fix the drops and maybe get the running game back on track, they could hopefully beat Brent Venables’ hell-bent Oklahoma Sooners defense this weekend and make a great playoff run, hopefully.