Alabama football has found its next receivers coach, and it didn’t have to look far.
The Crimson Tide is set to hire Derrick Nix to replace JaMarcus Shephard on the coaching staff, sources with knowledge of the hiring confirmed to AL.com. Nix most recently served as offensive coordinator/running backs coach for Auburn.
The Attalla native has been a staple in the south as an assistant coach for two decades. He has coached receivers, running backs and tight ends over his time with Southern Miss, Ole Miss and most recently Auburn.
Nix spent two seasons with the Tigers from 2024-2025. During his first year, he coached Jarquez Hunter, who earned a spot on the All-SEC first team after rushing for 1,201 yards. In 2025, once Hugh Freeze was fired, Nix became the offensive play caller for the month of November.
Over his three games as playcaller, Nix led the offense to scores of 38 points against Vanderbilt, 62 points against Mercer and 20 points against Alabama. Auburn passed for a season-high 353 yards in the loss to the Commodores.
Prior to his two years at Auburn, Nix worked as an assistant coach for Ole Miss for 16 seasons. He spent four seasons, from 2020 through 2023, coaching Rebels receivers.
In his final season, Nix coached three receivers to 700 yards or more in Tre Harris (a future second-round NFL Draft pick), Dayton Wade and Jordan Watkins. Over his time in Oxford, Nix also instructed the likes of Jonathan Mingo and Elijah Moore, both of whom went on to become second-round picks as well. Moore was a consensus All-America selection during the 2020 season, finishing as a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top pass catcher.
Before he became receivers coach, Nix coached the running backs from 2008 to 2019. He oversaw the development of notable players such as Dexter McCluster, Brandon Bolden and many other backs.
Prior to his days in Oxford, Nix coached at his alma mater. He started as a defensive graduate assistant in 2003 before he became the tight ends coach and eventually, running backs coach for the Golden Eagles.
Nix was a star running back for Southern Miss, making an immediate impact as a freshman in 1998. He earned Conference USA freshman of the year honors after he ran for 1,180 yards. He rushed for 1,000 yards or more in three seasons.
He is a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame as well as the Southern Miss Athletics Hall of Fame, among other accolades. Nix was nicknamed ‘Baby Bull’ “for his power and determination,” reads the entry for his induction into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2025.
Nix has connections to the Alabama coaching staff, most notably with Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack.
“I think the world of Derrick Nix and glad that he’s getting an opportunity to call (Auburn’s offense),” Wommack said ahead of the Iron Bowl. “I know he’s waited a long time to do that.”
Wommack also played at Southern Miss and his dad, Dave Wommack, also coached at Southern Miss when Nix was there. So Alabama’s defensive coordinator has known Nix since Wommack was about 7 or 8 years old.
“He’s doing a great job,” Wommack said before the Iron Bowl. “I mean, you can tell a noticeable difference. And some of the things they’re doing, from an execution standpoint, they’re playing within the framework of what their players can do. They’re getting the ball to their playmakers and creating some explosive plays both in the run and pass game.”
