Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack led the Eastern Illinois defense for two seasons. (Photo by Sandy King, EIUPanthers.com)
By Dan Verdun
The distance Kane Wommack walked to work for his first defensive coordinator job at Eastern Illinois was short. The mileage he and his family covered professionally in the next decade delivered him to the University of Alabama.
Though time, distance and prestige have changed for Wommack in the last decade, his perspective of where he started hasn’t faded.
“I enjoyed the heck out of my time in Charleston. That was a special time. Of course, it was my first defensive coordinator job,” the 38-year-old Crimson Tide defensive coordinator told Prairie State Pigskin.
Wommack was hired by then-EIU head coach Kim Dameron before the 2014 season. Wommack came to Charleston after starting his career coaching quarterbacks at Ohio Valley Conference rival UT Martin in 2010 and graduate assistant positions at Jacksonville State – a former OVC member – and Ole Miss of the SEC.
His EIU hiring also coincided with an important change in his personal life.
“The day (my wife) Melissa and I brought Asher, our oldest son, home from the hospital in Oxford, Mississippi, was the day Kim Dameron called me and offered me the Eastern defensive coordinator job,” he said. “We joked that Asher was a GA baby for about 36 hours and then we got a full-time job.”
Tatum, the couple’s middle son, was born in 2015 at Charleston’s Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. Jones, a third son, was born in later years.
“In this profession, you operate as a single parent at times. I appreciate Melissa for that, for sure,” he said.
On the job experience
From a professional standpoint, Wommack was a 26-year-old, first-time defensive coordinator at EIU. He brought along his father Dave’s 4-2-5 defensive alignment sprinkled with touches from well-known defensive wizards the likes of Frank Beamer, Bud Foster and Gary Patterson.
“I learned a ton,” Wommack said. “I knew this defense and the scheme. The background there is my dad was a longtime defensive coordinator, mainly in the SEC.
“When I took the (EIU) job, I brought his system. Michael Hodges, who was a linebackers coach for the (New Orleans) Saints for a lot of years and now with the Cincinnati Bengals, was with me. He and I were both 26 years old and learning and growing with all kinds of things, some that didn’t even directly involve the game.”
Personal touch
Wommack’s arrival at Eastern also proved to be an interesting time for his family.
“From a personal standpoint, it was really the first time Melissa and I had really been out on our own without family around. We had been with my parents at Ole Miss as a graduate assistant,” he said. “The support we got from the Charleston community was really great. We still have a couple of friends that we still talk and connect with to this day.
“From the front door of my house to the front door of the fieldhouse and stadium was something like 150 yards. We had our own little community right there in a special football place.”
Wommack, who was born in Springfield, Mo., in 1987, was also learning to make decisions that he had to live with as a coordinator rather than as a position or support coach.
“It’s different when you’re the one calling it,” he said. “You’re coming up with the game plan. You have to come up with the answers. But that was so enjoyable. Going through those struggles and adversities and figuring out how to adjust in the middle of the game (was part of it).”
Year two sparked success
Wommack, who is entering his second year as Alabama’s defensive coordinator, saw great success at EIU in 2015.
“It was really rewarding when in year two, we got a whole lot better,” Wommack recalled. “We made it to the playoffs and had some really great defensive numbers.”
Those numbers included being ranked second nationally in interceptions (19), third in takeaways (31), fourth in pass efficiency defense (103), eighth in red zone defense (53.3%) and 10th in tackles for loss (98).
Four Panthers earned All-Ohio Valley Conference honors that fall. Defensive lineman Dino Fanti was named co-OVC Defensive Player of the Year.
“What I remember from a professional standpoint is the growth that I had in those two years at Eastern,” he said.
Wommack left EIU in 2016 to take over the defense and coach linebackers at FBS South Alabama. After two seasons there, he spent the next three seasons at Indiana University in the Big Ten. Wommack returned to South Alabama to become the head coach in 2021 and remained there for three seasons.
He not only took South Alabama to consecutive bowl games, Wommack also continued to learn valuable coaching and leadership lessons.
“It’s always really important for everybody in the building to have a clear understanding of what the vision of the head coach is,” he said. “Your daily decisions should be focused on helping your head coach achieve his vision. I knew that somewhat as an assistant, but when you become a head coach you recognize how important it is that everyone pulls the rope in the same direction.
“You’re not looking for sameness; you’re looking for oneness. You don’t want everybody all the same. That’s not a recipe for greatness. You have to have different people, different personalities and roles and positions on a team, but you want to have oneness.”
Wommack also learned the value of time and timing, something that applies in his relationship with Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer.
“It’s very important that we’re efficient with the head coach’s time,” he said. “How do you make the boat go faster? You allow the head coach to continue to visioncast forward as opposed to fixing problems in the moment. A great coordinator is also just a great support cast member.”
A reunion on the horizon
Whether it’s simply the way things worked out or poetic justice, EIU will visit Wommack’s Crimson Tide this fall. The Panthers will encounter the perennial FBS power Nov. 22 in 100,077-seat Bryant-Denny Stadium.
For Wommack, it will mark the second time he goes against Eastern as the opposing FBS defensive coordinator. In 2019, Wommack commanded the Tom Allen-coached Indiana Hoosiers to a 52-0 shutout of EIU, then coached by Adam Cushing.
“I’m rooting for them as a team, (but) that week you’re focused on finding a way to beat them,” Wommack said. “But at the same time, I’ll take a moment before gametime to have an appreciation for the growth of my career and the track that I’ve been on and the opportunity that Eastern Illinois allowed me to grow in a decade’s time to be the coordinator at Alabama. That’s really special. I’ll be looking forward to that week when Eastern visits.”
Wommack also hopes to see a handful of former Panthers he coached and still keeps in touch with a decade later.
“There’s a number of guys that I’m hoping to be able to reach out to that I’ve talked to sporadically for the last two or three years. I hope that we can get them over to the game when EIU comes in. That would be pretty great,” he said.
Some – like Seth McDonald, Adam Gristick and Jarvis Williams – are in coaching.
“I keep up with Seth a good bit,” Wommack said. “He worked for me at Indiana and at South Alabama. He’s now at UTEP.
“I still talk to Kim Dameron some. Dino Fanti. Pono Choy. Adam and Juice (Williams) are a few others.”
Kamu Grugier-Hill, another former EIU player Wommack coached, has enjoyed a nine-year NFL career.
“Kamu married a girl whose brother is a student here at Alabama. This past spring we had breakfast and got to hang out. I really enjoyed that,” Wommack said. “I have great memories of my time at EIU and am so appreciative of the opportunity given to me while there. It’s such a great football program.”
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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