When Alabama’s long-time strength and conditioning coach, Scott Cochran, up and left for Georgia, many members of the Crimson Tide and their fan base had their jaws hit the floor. To them, it was a stunning development.
However, Cochran had become obviously frustrated in recent years and made his desire to become an on-field assistant abundantly clear.
That wasn’t happening under Nick Saban, so Cochran went out on his own in an attempt to find an on-field job, even if it meant taking a substantial pay decrease. And before landing with the Bulldogs, he made several other stops around the country, including East Rutherford, New Jersey.
John Talty of The Birmingham News reports that Cochran tried to get a job with the New York Giants, where former Alabama assistant Joe Judge had recently been named head coach.
Saban, meanwhile, had concerns about numbers and results from a strength and conditioning standpoint and wanted tweaks made to the program. Sources said Saban began “riding Cochran mercilessly in front of staff.”
At this point, Cochran was even more determined to find an on-field opportunity elsewhere. Cochran pursued job opportunities with Michigan State and the New York Giants but neither worked out, per sources.
Cochran’s name did not come up while Judge was compiling his coaching staff, but it’s clear there was at least some communication between the two. Why things did not work out however, is another mystery.
Ultimately, Cochran was hired as Georgia’s special teams coordinator, which is the on-field role he so desperately desired. Meanwhile, Judge kept Thomas McGaughey on staff as the Giants’ special teams coordinator, also bringing back Tom Quinn as the assistant special teams coach.
