TUSCALOOSA | Nearly a week after he stepped down as the University of Alabama baseball coach, Jim Wells has had a change of heart.

Wells, who said last week that "the timing was right" for him to leave the Crimson Tide baseball job, will return as the Crimson Tide head coach, according to a Wednesday announcement by UA.

“We had a very long discussion this morning, and it became obvious to me that Jim has had a change of heart regarding this situation,” Athletic Director Mal Moore said. “It also was obvious to me that Jim is totally committed to achieving excellence in every phase of the baseball program. I think it’s very important to note that Jim struggled greatly with his original decision to retire. That reflected the passion he feels about this University, the Alabama baseball program and the community at large. I am pleased that he has reconsidered that decision and I am confident that his commitment to this program is now stronger than ever.”

“Talking about it with recruits, our players, the families and the coaching staff was difficult, but I thought I would get past that,” Wells said. “Over the course of the last few days, I knew I just didn’t feel right about it. I came to realize that I had personally rushed myself into that decision, that I didn’t allow myself the time needed to really consider everything I needed to. So I felt the best way to handle it was to deal with this head-on, and I decided to talk with Coach Moore this morning. We talked at length and I let him know that the last few days have allowed me to step back and re-evaluate everything here. It made me realize that I haven’t lost my passion for this job."

The 52-year-old Wells, the winningest coach in the history of the program, said he decided to retire after extensive discussions with athletic director Mal Moore.

“A combination of things – both personal matters and professional challenges – had made me feel that this was a situation that had become difficult to manage recently. But I have worked out some things so that this is a very manageable situation, and I am more excited, energized and passionate about coaching the Alabama baseball team because I've been through this. I want to make it clear to everyone that this situation was totally driven by me, and I want to apologize to our fans, the administration and, most of all, to my players and the coaching staff.

“I know this is what I want to be doing and this is where I want to be, and I am looking forward to getting back to work. We have tremendous challenges and opportunities ahead of us, and I am eager to take those on," said Wells.

Alabama went 31-26 (15-15 SEC) this season, missing out on the NCAA Tournament a season after winning the Southeastern Conference title and advancing to an NCAA super regional.

Wells is 553-272 at Alabama and his teams made 10 NCAA tournament appearances. Alabama lost the 1997 College World Series title game to LSU. He was two-time SEC coach of the year and his teams won six SEC tournament titles.

A native of Bossier City, La., Wells was 192-89 in five seasons at Northwestern State before coming to Alabama.