NEW ORLEANS ― Former Alabama football safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is returning to the Crimson Tide. He’s joining the staff as a director of player development, he said Friday.
Clinton-Dix, while on a virtual press conference from his hotel room in New Orleans, spoke with reporters in Green Bay after retiring from the NFL. He signed a one-day deal to retire as a member of the Packers, the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft.
‘That’s where my life is headed: into coaching,’ Clinton-Dix said. ‘Helping these kids create great decision making and making the right choices as they get ready to further their career and head to the NFL and other avenues they want to endure after football is over with.’
Clinton-Dix played for the Crimson Tide from 2011-13, winning two national championships in that span. He earned All-America honors in 2013.
Clinton-Dix came back to campus in October for a 2012 reunion that allowed him to spend time with some of his academic advisors.
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‘They were asking me what direction I was going in,’ Clinton-Dix said. ‘I told them I was looking to flip the page from football. Focused on being a servant and of course doing what I love, and that’s helping others. She sat down with me and she (darn) near opened the floor and told me I have an opportunity to come back and work for Nick Saban in a director of player development role here in Tuscaloosa. So right now, we’re in New Orleans. We came down on the 26th, we have a game on Saturday against Kansas State. We’ve been down here enjoying New Orleans and getting ready for a game on Saturday.’
Clinton-Dix spent 2014-18 with the Packers. Then, Green Bay traded him to Washington before Clinton-Dix later made stops with the Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos. He hasn’t played this season.
His career includes Pro Bowl, second-team All-Pro and All-NFC honors.
Now, he’s headed back to the college football ranks, which will allow him to stay connected even after his playing days. He said he still does a little backpedaling in practice and working out with the players.
‘Being a part of a team is what I feel like is important and being able to help others. I still watch every game on Sunday,’ he said. ‘I’ve got my iPad and we get all the games and all the plays, so I still get a chance to watch football, be around football. I have a lot of friends in the NFL as well. I watch all of these guys each and every week, and it feels like I’m still part of them and part of the game without all the meetings and all the practicing and stuff.’
