Auburn assistant coach leaving for the NFL

On3 imageby:Wade Peery02/13/22

The Denver Broncos are hiring Auburn outside linebacker coach Bert Watts. On3’s Matt Zenitz and Justin Hokanson confirmed on Sunday evening. ESPN’s Dan Graziano was the first to report the news. Along with being Auburn’s outside linebacker coach, Watts was also the team’s associate head coach and their special teams coordinator. He will coach the outside linebackers for the Denver Broncos under head coach Nathaniel Hackett.

Tigers’ head coach Bryan Harsin has already made new hires at the defensive coordinator, defensive line, and linebacker positions. He still needs to hire a coach for their offensive coordinator and quarterback positions.

Watts helped lead Auburn to an 8-3 record and a bowl victory in 2020. Defensively, the unit was ranked in the top 20 nationally in red zone defense, turnovers gained, and fumbles recovered. Before Auburn, Watts spent three seasons at Fresno State. His defensive units at Fresno State ranked in the top 10 nationally in several statistical categories.

Under Watts’ guidance, Auburn linebacker Zakoby McClain established himself as one of the most dominant linebackers in college football the past few seasons. In the 2021-2022 season, he racked up 95 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and two sacks. McClain also had six pass breakups and two quarterback hurries. The Valdosta, Ga. native was named second team All-SEC this season. He was also named SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his 14 tackles and two sacks in Auburn’s 31-20 win against Ole Miss. During his remarkable career at Auburn, McClain tallied 268 career tackles, which ranks fourth all-time since 2000. A tackling machine, he had 13 double-digit tackling performances for Auburn during his time there.

The Tigers recently announced they are keeping head coach Bryan Harsin for the 2022 season. The announcement came after weeks of speculation, turmoil, and rumors surrounding their head coach’s future at the school.