Alabama seeks another offensive assistant after Billy Napier's departure

Alabama has lost a third offensive assistant since capturing its 26th Southeastern Conference football championship in early December.

Receivers coach Billy Napier, the former Murray County High School and Furman University quarterback, left the Crimson Tide this past weekend to become the new offensive coordinator at Arizona State. Napier replaces Chip Lindsey, who left the Sun Devils for the same role at Auburn nine days ago.

Napier was Alabama's receivers coach the past four seasons, working his first two years with Amari Cooper and the last two with Calvin Ridley. Cooper became Alabama's first Biletnikoff Award winner in 2014 after amassing a league-record 124 receptions for a school-record 1,727 yards, while Cooper set a Crimson Tide freshman record in 2015 with 89 catches for 1,045 yards.

The Crimson Tide had more than 450 yards of total offense in each of their first eight games this past season but were not nearly as consistent down the stretch, though the defenses of LSU, Auburn, Florida, Washington and Clemson did rank among the top 10 nationally in fewest points allowed.

Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin was named Florida Atlantic's head coach on Dec. 13, and Alabama head coach Nick Saban tabbed offensive analyst Steve Sarkisian as Kiffin's successor four days later. Offensive tackles and tight ends coach Mario Cristobal left to become Oregon's co-offensive coordinator on Jan. 13, and Saban named offensive analyst Mike Locksley to the full-time staff three days after that.

Saban has given Locksley the title of co-offensive coordinator but has not revealed his specific responsibilities.

When asked last week at a Senior Bowl practice if he thought there would be further staff changes this offseason, Saban told reporters, "Not really, but I never know what other guys are going to do."

The 37-year-old Napier has been an offensive coordinator before, guiding Clemson's offense in 2009 to 436 points, which set a school record. He occupied the same role in 2010 but was let go by Dabo Swinney after the Tigers concluded a 6-7 season with a Meineke Car Care Bowl loss to South Florida.

Napier became an offensive analyst at Alabama in 2011, when the Crimson Tide won the second of their four national titles under Saban, before following Jim McElwain out to Colorado State as his quarterbacks coach.

One of Napier's quarterbacks in Tempe will be Blake Barnett, who started Alabama's opening 52-6 rout of Southern California this past September. Barnett played three games for the Crimson Tide as a redshirt freshman before electing to transfer, completing 11 of 19 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns.

Chapman arrested

Former Alabama defensive lineman Josh Chapman was arrested Sunday morning in Tuscaloosa and charged with driving under the influence. Chapman played for the Crimson Tide from 2007 to '11, tallying 88 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss, and spent this past season as an Alabama assistant strength and conditioning coach under Scott Cochran.

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