NAPA – Derrick Ansley is Alabama born, educated and bred. He grew up in Tallassee, played safety at Troy and started his coaching career at Division III Huntingdon College in Montgomery.
He joined the University of Alabama staff as a graduate assistant and, after a two-job tour through the SEC, he returned to the Crimson Tide and helped them win a national title.
It was time, at that point, to truly leave his home state.
“I was going to take the defensive coordinator job at Colorado State, and I got a call (from Jon Gruden),” Ansley said.