Consider this some very good news for Alabama: James Willis is apparently headed to Gainesville. Per the Lubbock Avalance-Journal:
First-year defensive coordinator James Willis stepped down on Sunday, the day the Red Raiders arrived in Dallas to begin preparation for the TicketCity Bowl against Northwestern.
The Avalanche-Journal learned Sunday night Willis was talking about a job with the University of Florida and Tech coach Tommy Tuberville found out through third parties. The two came to a mutual agreement Willis should leave Tech.
Why is that good news for Alabama? Simple. James Willis is the first-year defensive coordinator at Texas Tech, and you know he's not going to go behind the back of his longtime boss, Tommy Tuberville, just to take a demotion to being a position coach. In other words, this likely means that James Willis is headed to Gainesville to be the next defensive coordinator at Florida under Will Muschamp, which quite obviously means that Kirby Smart will not be leaving Alabama to take that position.
Finally, how comical is it that Tommy Tuberville just cannot quite seem to find anyone with any degree of loyalty to him? From Jetgate all the way to this, apparently people just love going behind his back. Maybe that is why he was at one time so beholden to John Lovett and Noel Mazzone. Perhaps he should not offended notions of karma by leaving Ole Miss in that pine box.