On Monday evening it was reported Miami defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski had interviewed for the defensive line job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He's not getting the job, but he's not going back to Coral Gables, either. Miami formally announced Monday night that Kuligowski is leaving the program "to pursue other opportunities."
Bruce Feldman tweeted shortly thereafter "other opportunities" actually means Alabama. The Tide's defensive line coach, Karl Dunbar, left for the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this month.
ESPN's Adam Rittenberg quickly followed with a report of his own.
Kuligowski played at Toledo while Nick Saban was on staff, and spent 15 years prior to joining the Miami staff at Missouri. The bulk of those years were spent working under Gary Pinkel who, along with Saban, represents a branch on the Don James coaching tree.
Coach Kool was selected by his peers as the FootballScoop Defensive Line Coach of the Year in 2014. His 'Canes led the nation last fall with 3.39 sacks per game.
If and when the Alabama hiring comes to pass it will be yet another example of how Saban has managed to keep the Tide Train rolling for a decade-plus now despite a constant churn of assistant coaches.