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LIVINGSTON, Ala. – One hour away from the place that made him famous, Scott Cochran gets the news from his athletic trainer that it’s too hot to wear pads at practice today.
It’s an unfortunate reality of the blazing Alabama sun this morning, but he has no choice but to adapt and move on. He knows it won’t go over well with his young staff — full of former Alabama stars like Blake Sims, O.J. Howard and Bo Scarbrough. They are eager for another opportunity to improve with the season opener looming. Cochran was once the same — ringleader of those then-Alabama players running 110s in the punishing heat that helped shape Crimson Tide teams that never backed down.
But when you’ve lived the life Cochran has over the last five years, you gain perspective on what really matters.
Inside Homer Field House as Division-II West Alabama’s new head coach, Cochran is 60 miles and a lifetime away from Bryant-Denny Stadium, where he played a critical role on Nick Saban’s Alabama staff that won five national championships. There are none of Tuscaloosa’s waterfalls or ostentatious displays of wealth here. The facilities are akin to what you’d see at a large high school in this state.
When Cochran was flying high as the nation’s most famous and highly paid strength coach — famous for his loud “YEAH, YEAH, YEAH,” — this wasn’t what he envisioned when he dreamed of being a head coach. You have to hustle for everything here, and while he’s extremely thankful for the paycheck and belief in him, he says it’s about a quarter of what he last made at Georgia.
He used his first three paychecks to get his players essentials like new cleats, gloves, and sweatshirts, so they don’t have to keep wearing their high school gear. There were no big Nike…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/once-nick-sabans-right-hand-man-scott-cochran-overcame-addiction-to-earn-a-fresh-start-at-west-alabama/
Author : John Talty
Publish date : 2025-08-20 21:23:00
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