Pruitt spent the past two seasons as Georgia’s defensive coordinator and improved the unit from where it was during his time in Athens.
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Smart will stay on at Alabama through the College Football Playoff. The website BamaOnline.com was the first to report the news.
Alabama has officially filled its defensive coordinator position for the 2016 season.
Those familiar with the situation said Pruitt was ready to return to Georgia, but was not being retained by Smart.
A source confirmed to The Telegraph that Pruitt will become Alabama’s next defensive coordinator.
Pruitt was announced Friday as Alabama’s new defensive coordinator, replacing Smart, who was announced five days ago as Georgia’s new head coach. He came to Georgia from Florida State, where he was the DC when the Seminoles won the BCS Championship.
Pruitt played defensive back at Alabama from 1995-96, then became a graduate assistant for the 1997 season. He returned to Tuscaloosa as a director of player development from 2007 to 2009 before being named the defensive backs coach from 2010 to 2012. The Georgia defense ranked No. 9 in scoring defense and No. 8 in total defense this past season, so maybe that’s why Jim Harbaugh sought Pruitt out to discuss Michigan’s defensive coordinator job – D.J. Durkin left that position open when he accepted the head coaching job at Maryland. “Growing up in the state and having played and coached here, I have a great appreciation for Alabama football”.
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The move to Tuscaloosa marks a return for Pruitt, who was a high school assistant coach at Birmingham, Alabama, powerhouse Hoover High before beginning his college career under Nick Saban in 2007 as an off-field assistant at Alabama.
