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For the second time this offseason, Nick Saban is set to hire a former member of the Tennessee football staff. Bob Welton has been identified as his next director of player personnel. Welton served in the same position for Tennessee last year. He will be replacing Jody Wright, who left for UAB.
SCOOP: According to multiple sources via myself and @AustinPriceless, former Vols Director of Player Personnel Bob Welton, who worked with Butch Jones for all five years at Tennessee, has emerged as the leading candidate for the same vacant position at Alabama.
— Jesse Simonton (@JesseReSimonton) May 11, 2018
Welton worked under Butch Jones at Tennessee, who was hired by Saban earlier this year as an offensive analyst. Jones hired Welton to run his recruiting office upon his arrival in Knoxville in 2013.
Welton has nine years of NFL experience as a scout for the Cleveland Browns. Before that stint, Welton was a high school head coach for seven years.
Recruiting wasn’t exactly the issue during Butch Jones’ time at Tennessee. Most would actually tell you that he and his staff restored some talent in Knoxville. That talent just wasn’t ever developed properly. Combine that with the strange rash of injuries over a two year span and you see why things didn’t work out for Jones.
Welton now walks into perhaps the cushiest recruiting job in college football — recruiting for the runaway freight train that is Alabama.