Alabama football DC Kane Wommack invokes beloved sports movie

Alabama football defensive coordinator Kane Wommack is in search a few more players he can rely on for the 2026 season, and that means identifying what backup players can do effectively, not just starters. In that pursuit, he invoked what he called one of his all-time favorite movies: Moneyball. Now 15 years old, the baseball movie starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill chronicled the plight of former Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane, who sought to re-invent the way players were valued as a means of fielding a competitive, under-resourced club in a small market. "I loved the movie Moneyball," Wommack said. "It's one of my favorite movies. You've got to play a little bit of Moneyball, right? You've got to create value and depth with some really good pieces to a puzzle." The comparison, of course, stops cold right there. Alabama is anything but a small-market, empty-pocketed player in college football, which, in the NIL era, has far more have-nots than haves. The Crimson Tide is most definitely not the top NIL spender in the sport, but it spends a lot more than most. Relative to Moneyball, UA would be a second-tier spender like the Boston Red Sox or San Diego Padres, far from the bottom-dwelling Athletics, who play in Sacramento but will be calling Las Vegas home as soon as 2028. Still, Wommack substitutes reserves liberally on the UA defense, and that can require finding narrowly-defined roles for players who aren't starter-ready. "That always comes down to development, and that's something I think we do an elite job (of) here, from our athletic director all the way down," Wommack added. Wommack said he should have a firm grasp on the winners of various camp competitions on the defensive side of the ball, along with snap distribution for reserves, by the end of this week. UA will hold its second fall scrimmage on Thursday. Alabama plays host to East Carolina on Sept. 5. Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X @chasegoodbread. RUN GAME REPORT: Why Ryan Grubb continues to believe in Alabama football run game potential CAMP UPDATE: These five-star freshmen will play for Alabama football defense in 2026 This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football DC Kane Wommack invokes beloved sports movie