Alabama AD Bill Battle Retiring, Replacement Ready

Alabama Athletic Director Bill Battle is retiring, and his replacement may be announced today.

Bill Battle took the reigns as Alabama’s athletic director after the departure of Mal Moore. It’s not easy to step into the shoes of a legend and that’s exactly what Bill Battle did at Alabama. Mal Moore returned Alabama Athletics to greatness, and Bill Battle was the man who had to follow him.

By now you’ve seen a hundred articles talking about Battle and his accomplishments at Alabama, and there are many, but the most impressive thing to me was that he followed Moore and didn’t end up in his shadow. People often talk about how difficult it will be for the coach who follows Nick Saban, following Mal Moore wasn’t any different.

Battle made a statement on his departure on Sunday night.

When I took over this role my wife, Mary, and I made a commitment to serving four years and I am pleased to have been able to do just that. There are so many people in the department who do a great job every day to make the Crimson Tide successful. I am deeply grateful to each and every one of them for their extraordinary efforts and loyalty to the University. Being able to lead this department has been an honor and a privilege for which I am most grateful.”

Some reports have suggested that Bill Battle was in some way fired, that’s simply not true. Battle will still be active at Alabama as well serving as special assistant to university president Stuart Bell.

Battle’s replacement is expected to be Arizona’s Greg Byrne. Bryne has been running Arizona’s athletics department for four years and worked at Mississippi State before that. Bryne was heavily courted by Florida during their search for an Athletic Director earlier in 2016.

What do you think? Is Greg Byrne the right replacement for Bill Battle? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments below.