During his post-practice press conference Monday night, Nick Saban confirmed last week’s report of Alabama hiring former Michigan assistant George Helow. Saban said Helow will be brought on as a “special assistant” and will serve as “somebody to do a little extra work, that has good experience.”

Helow got his coaching start at Alabama as a defensive intern in 2012. He most recently most recently coached linebackers at Michigan from 2021-22.

Before joining Michigan, he spent the 2020 season coaching special teams and inside linebackers at Maryland. Helow’s longest coaching stint was with Colorado State where he worked from 2016-19, progressing from a graduate assistant before coaching linebackers, and safeties. He spent the 2013 season as a defensive graduate assistant at Florida State before coaching safeties at Georgia from 2014-15.

Earlier this month, Alabama outside linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler accepted the defensive coordinator job at Mississippi State. Saban said Hutzler will remain with the team throughout the remainder of its run in the College Football Playoff.

When asked whether Helow could eventually serve as Hutzler’s replacement, the head coach said isn’t he is “not concerned about any of that stuff right now.”

“I don’t have time right now to go through the due diligence of hiring anybody, or even being concerned about that,” Saban said. “We’re focused on what we got to do right now.”

No. 4 Alabama will face top-ranked Michigan in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. The national championship game will be held on Jan. 8 in Houston.