What Nick Saban said about new Alabama football inside linebackers coach Robert Bala

Alabama football has made the hire of Robert Bala official as its inside linebackers coach, the program announced Friday.

He replaces Austin Armstrong, who held the job for a month before leaving to become Florida's defensive coordinator recently.

"Robert is a smart young coach who has paid his dues across all levels of college football, and we are excited to add him to our staff," Saban said in a statement. "He has a wealth of experience and a proven track record of developing football players both on and off the field. He is an excellent teacher, an excellent recruiter and coaches with great passion and enthusiasm."

Bala had been a Liberty analyst this past season under Auburn coach Hugh Freeze before being promoted to linebackers coach this offseason.

Before Liberty, he was a defensive coordinator for two seasons at FCS member Southern Utah while also coaching the linebackers in 2021 and the safeties in 2020. Before becoming defensive coordinator, Bala was Southern Utah's co-special teams coordinator and cornerbacks coach in 2019 and solely the cornerbacks coach in 2018.

"When you talk about college football tradition and prestige, it doesn't get any better than the University of Alabama and Coach Saban," Bala said in a statement. "Alabama is the standard in college football, and I am humbled to have the opportunity to contribute to this program and coach the talented young men who play here."

Other new additions to the staff this season include offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.

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