Alabama is hiring George Helow, the former coach of the Michigan football team’s linebackers, an insider informed The Athletic on Thursday.

The 36-year-old Helow is expected to get to work right away as the Crimson Tide prepare to play his former team, Michigan, in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl.

Helow worked for the Wolverines during the 2021–2022 seasons. He played in top-15 defenses and assisted in turning Junior Colson into a Freshman All-America in 2021. After the previous season, when Jim Harbaugh reinstated Chris Partridge as the linebackers coach at Michigan, he finally departed the program. Since then, Partridge has been kicked out of the program following an NCAA probe into claims that the team engaged in improper signal-stealing.

Helow began his coaching career as a defensive intern under Nick Saban at Alabama in 2012.

What does Alabama stand to gain from this hire?

Helow worked under current defensive coordinator Jesse Minter in 2022 even though he wasn’t a member of the Michigan staff this year; his familiarity with the Wolverines’ scheme will be helpful as Alabama prepares for its most difficult defensive test to date. Michigan leads the country this season in both total defense (239.2 yards per game) and scoring defense (9.46 points per game). Colson and Michael Barrett, two of Helow’s former linebackers, were chosen for the All-Big Ten team this year.

Alabama isn’t scheduled to start practice until mid-month. The team will participate in lifting, running and player-led 7-on-7 between now and then, which gives Helow time to get adjusted and start meeting with coaches ahead of full-scale practice later in December.

After this season, Helow’s hiring could lead to a full-time position on Alabama’s staff. Coleman Hutzler, the special teams coordinator and current coach of the outside linebackers, has accepted the position of defensive coordinator at Mississippi State, creating a staff void. In 2020, Helow held the positions of special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at Maryland. He has over ten years of experience on defense, having worked at Alabama, Georgia, Colorado State, and most recently Michigan. Helow will be a key member of one of college football’s top staffs and a young, highly regarded coach will join Saban’s squad if all goes according to plan and Helow is eventually promoted.— Kennington Smith III, beat reporter for Alabama