Departing assistant Charles Kelly will remain with Alabama for Sugar Bowl
Departing safeties coach Charles Kelly will remain with Alabama for the Sugar Bowl before joining Deion Sanders’ staff in Colorado, Tide Illustrated has learned.
Kelly was hired as Colorado’s next defensive coordinator two weeks ago but elected to see out the remainder of the season on the Crimson Tide’s staff. No. 5 Alabama will face No. 9 Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31 inside the Ceasars Superdome in New Orleans.
“I really appreciate Deion and Charles Kelly both in terms of trying to finish the right way,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said during his Wednesday press conference. “I went through that experience when I left the Cleveland Browns to go to Michigan State as a head coach. We had 4-5-6 games left and I felt I owed it to the players, to coach Belichick and the Cleveland Browns organization to do the best job I could and stay focused on that. And Charles has done a really good job of that.”
Kelly has spent the past four years at Alabama, helping the Crimson Tide to two SEC titles and a national championship. During his first year at Alabama in 2019, he oversaw Xavier McKinney, who led the team with 95 tackles and finished third with three interceptions en route to becoming a second-round selection by the New York Giants in the 2020 NFL Draft.
He’s also helped develop current Alabama starters Jordan Battle and DeMarcco Hellams, who are both projected to be selected in next year’s NFL Draft. Hellams leads the team with 95 tackles while Jordan Battle ranks fourth with 62.
In addition to helping coach Alabama on the field, Kelly has been one of the Tide's top recruiters. He served as the leading recruiter for four-star Montgomery, Ala., duo Qua Russaw and James Smith, who committed to Alabama on Wednesday. The Crimson Tide signed 27 players Wednesday on the opening day of the early signing period. Alabama has the No. 1 class in the Rivals recruiting rankings.
“I was really encouraged by the energy, the enthusiasm, the relationships that the entire staff was able to, sort of, develop with this recruiting class and I think that’s important in the future," Saban said. "Because I think having good relationships is one of the things that will be critical with how you manage a roster in the future and I think when you have good relationships when guys come in, that’s something you can build on.”