Chris Rumph leaves Alabama, joins Strong at Texas

As the hire of Lane Kiffin still floats fresh in the Tuscaloosa air, Nick Saban will now prepare to fill another vacancy on his staff.

Defensive line coach Chris Rumph, who joined the Crimson Tide program in January of 2011, has accepted a position at the University of Texas under new head coach Charlie Strong.

Alabama defensive line coach Chris Rumph leaving for Texas (report) http://t.co/fwUrSpDtrM
— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) January 12, 2014

While the rumor mill has already begun to turn, as it did soon after the departure of former offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, no official candidates to replace Rumph have been named at this very early stage in the process.

Declaring it to be quite obviously nothing more than pure speculation at this time, with several "defensive minds" currently on the UA staff, it is quite possible that Nick Saban chooses to hire from within the organization.