The worst-kept secrets were made official Monday when Alabama announced its three new assistant football coaching hires.

The additions of offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and defensive assistant Austin Armstrong had been widely reported the past few weeks. The official title for Armstrong will be middle linebackers coach, according to the news release distributed by the football program Monday afternoon.

This seemingly marks the end of this year’s coaching musical chairs that saw Alabama replace both coordinators for the first time since 2018. Nick Saban said they wanted to add “new energy” when seeking replacements for Bill O’Brien and Pete Golding at the coordinator level and Charles Kelly as the defensive secondary coach.

With Armstrong replacing Golding as the middle linebackers coach, there isn’t an assistant specifically noted as leading the safeties. That was Kelly’s role last year before he left to become the defensive coordinator at Colorado.

Steele, now on his third stint as an Alabama assistant and second as DC, does not have a positional group listed as a secondary responsibility like Golding had with the middle linebackers.

Rees and Armstrong are the newcomers to the system in Tuscaloosa.

Armstrong comes to Alabama after two years as the youngest coordinator in the FBS at Southern Miss. Before that, he was an inside linebackers coach under Billy Napier at Louisiana in 2020 and a defensive quality control coach under Kirby Smart at Georgia in 2019.

“Growing up in West Alabama the opportunity to coach at The University of Alabama is a dream come true,” Armstrong said in the news release. “I have admired what Coach Saban has built in Tuscaloosa and the long history of tradition and success this program has enjoyed. I am excited to get to work as we continue the legacy of success that is synonymous with Alabama football.”

Armstrong is a 2014 graduate of Huntingdon College in Montgomery. His addition was reported in the day after Golding left for the Ole Miss defensive coordinator job.

Rees’ hiring from Notre Dame came a few weeks later after Alabama interviewed several candidates. A former starting quarterback in South Bend, Rees had been an assistant for the Irish since 2017 and the offensive coordinator since 2020.

Steele was the defensive coordinator at Miami when Saban hired him back for Round 3. The veteran coach was the Crimson Tide DC in Saban’s first season back in 2007 and the middle linebackers coach in 2014.

“We are excited to bring in such a gifted group of coaches to develop our players both on and off the field,” Saban said in the news release. “Kevin, Tommy and Austin have a great mix of energy, enthusiasm and experience that will be a tremendous asset to our program. They are all excellent teachers of the game and fantastic recruiters who bring a wealth of experience and resources to our staff.”

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.