There’s a bridging of old and new for Alabama football this offseason. Kalen DeBoer is settling into his new office, music is bumping behind Coleman Coliseum on spring afternoons for practice, the 4th Quarter Program remains a grueling tradition.

A new connection between the Nick Saban era and DeBoer’s start was connected on Tuesday. John McNulty, a former NFL coach with recent collegiate stops at Penn State, Notre Dame and Boston College, worked in Tuscaloosa last year. Now, hel’ll be back as the 11th off-field analyst under DeBoer.

DeBoer’s staff was previously announced on March 4, headlined by special teams coordinator Jay Nunez, former Washington defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell and Mark Sheridan — the brother of offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan. 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported McNulty’s hire.

McNulty was a safety at Penn State in the late 1980s. He started his on-field coaching career with Connecticut in 1995. He left for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars in 1998. McNulty joined the staff last year after having a crossover with Tommy Rees at Notre Dame. McNulty was among the non-renewed analysts that left the program when DeBoer took over.

Now, McNulty returns, joining previous holdovers Freddie Roach (defensive line) and Robert Gillespie (running backs).

“We don’t really evaluate it as if we’re behind or ahead; we’re just where we are and we’re trying to be better tomorrow than we are today. We have a way that we install the offense,” Nick Sheridan said about introducing a new offensive system. “I think you adapt that with your group each and every year with who you have, the skill set of the players.

“We don’t look it as hurdles. We just look at it at identifying areas where we need to improve and try to attack those each and every day and then build on the things we did well. That’s what we’ve always tried to do as a staff.”

Other DeBoer analysts include: Kirk Barron, Ryan Trevathan, Matt Shadeed, Mitch Dahlen, Jamey Mosely, Ali Smith and Ron McKeefery.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].