Alabama's first 10-member assistant football coaching staff appears to be set, just in time for this afternoon's national championship parade.
Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban, according to multiple media reports, has promoted Mike Locksley to offensive coordinator and has hired Penn State receivers coach Josh Gattis and Louisiana-Lafayette defensive coordinator Karl Scott to complete his staff.
On Thursday, Alabama announced the hiring of former Texas A&M assistant Jeff Banks as special teams coach, but the university has yet to confirm the promotion of Locksley and the hirings of Gattis and Scott.
Locksley spent the 2016 season as an offensive analyst for the Crimson Tide and served this past season as co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach. ESPN reported Friday that Locksley, who was New Mexico's head coach from 2009 to 2011 and Maryland's interim coach for the final six games of the 2015 season, will oversee the quarterbacks.
Scott has spent the past two seasons coaching Texas Tech's secondary and was hired last month as the defensive coordinator at Louisiana-Lafayette, which is now coached by Billy Napier, a former Tide receivers coach from Murray County in Georgia. Scott is replacing Derrick Ansley, who was introduced this week as the new defensive backs coach for Jon Gruden's Oakland Raiders.
The Tide have lost Ansley, defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll from last year's nine-member staff and have added Scott, Banks and Pete Golding to an undetermined defensive role. Saban still hasn't named Pruitt's successor as coordinator.
The Tide's fifth national championship team of the Saban era will be honored with a parade in Tuscaloosa that will begin at Denny Chimes at 3 p.m. Eastern. It will include Saban, his assistants and players, as well as Alabama cheerleaders and the Million Dollar Band.
Following the parade, a program including Saban, Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey and College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock will take place on the north steps of Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Alabama earned its fifth national championship in nine seasons with a dramatic 26-23 overtime win over Georgia in Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 8. The Crimson Tide entered the four-team playoff as the No. 4 seed, with a 26-14 loss at Auburn on Nov. 25 having denied Alabama the SEC title, the SEC Western Division title and even a state championship to celebrate.
There will be giveaways at today's event, including 10,000 championship posters. Fans also can take pictures with the AFCA Amway Coaches Trophy at the Walk of Champions next to Bryant-Denny, beginning at 12:30.
The championship celebration will be televised from 3 to 4 p.m. by the SEC Network, with Laura Rutledge hosting the coverage.
Alabama is using this weekend, which also includes a men's basketball game tonight against visiting Mississippi State, as an opportunity to host a dozen or so football recruits. Among the prospects scheduled to visit are five-star cornerbacks Patrick Surtain and Tyson Campbell of American Heritage High in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and outside linebacker JJ Peterson of Colquitt County High in Moultrie, Ga.
Alabama is vying with LSU for Surtain and with Georgia for Campbell. Peterson committed to Tennessee two weeks ago.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.