Alabama Interim Coach Deserves Job After Shining Post Gambling Scandal - Tide Vs. No. 1 Wake Forest Delayed Because Of 'Medical Event'

Alabama's interim baseball coach Jason Jackson has eliminated the last five letters from the first word of his job title.

Yes, he is now Alabama's in- baseball coach, Jason Jackson.

He's definitely more in than out at the moment. Two more wins in the best-of-three Super Regional at No. 1 Wake Forest that starts Saturday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (3:15 p.m., ESPN+), and he IS Alabama's baseball coach, one would assume. If that happens, he will have Alabama in its first College World Series since 1999, which was four coaches ago.

Wake Forest announced Saturday that the game would be delayed from its original noon start to 2:15 p.m. because of "a non-game related medical event." No other information was available.

Jackson may already have the job as he has Alabama in its first Super since 2010, which was three coaches ago.

Since Alabama fired coach Brad Bohannon on May 4 because of a gambling scandal and promoted Jackson from pitching coach, Jackson is 13-4 - 3-0 in the NCAA postseason. He finished 7-2 in the Southeastern Conference after inheriting a team that was 30-15 overall and 9-12 in the league. The Tide is 43-19 now after a 16-14 finish in the SEC for a tie for seventh.

When Jackson, 44, was promoted, Alabama did not view him as a serious candidate for the permanent job. Maybe because he was too close to the scandal as an assistant to Bohannon from the beginning in the summer of 2017.

By the SEC Tournament two weeks ago, he was worth a conversation.

Alabama On The Verge Of Omaha

If he gets No. 16 seed Alabama to Omaha, Nebraska, for the CWS and doesn't get the permanent job after eliminating the No. 1 seed and No. 1-ranked team, there would be another national conversation about Alabama. And this one would not be very flattering either. Wake Forest (50-10, 22-7 ACC champions) has been No. 1 for the last month for crying out loud.

One SEC coach told OutKick on Thursday that Jackson already has the job. Even if that's true or close to it, it would still be wise to seal the deal this weekend.

"He did a wonderful job from the very first meeting with the team and has continued," Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said last week at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Florida. "I've been around him a lot, and I've been very pleased with the job he's done. I've been really pleased with the job the kids have done."

Alabama Baseball Thriving Under Interim Jason Jackson

Interesting choice of words there at the end by Byrne. Bohannon did get the players with whom Jackson has won, and the team is veteran laden. So Bohannon deserves credit, though it was Jackson doing the brunt of the recruiting as coordinator. Bohannon and Jackson steadily built the team up from 27-29 and 8-22 in their first season in 2018 after inheriting a 19-34 and 5-24 program. By 2021, Alabama reached an NCAA Regional at 32-26 and 12-17. Mediocre, but progress. There was another mediocre year in 2022 at 31-27 and 12-17 with no postseason.

And that's just it. Perhaps Jackson provided the spark to get Alabama over the mediocre hump this season. The 16-14 SEC finish is Alabama's best since Jim Wells went 18-11 in 2009. The 43 wins are the most since Wells went 44-21 in 2006.

And Jackson has been seen as one of college baseball's rising recruiters since he was the pitching coach/recruiting coordinator at South Alabama in 2007 and '08 before holding the same positions at Florida Atlantic from 2009-17.

"I hated to lose him," former South Alabama coach Steve Kittrell told OutKick Thursday night. "He really impacted our team, and we missed him. He was in the midst of rebuilding our talent base. He's such a good recruiter. He really relates to the players well."

Kittrell hired Jackson, a Tallahassee, Florida, native, from Mercer and lost him to Florida Atlantic. Kittrell retired after the 2011 season, having taken USA to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances from 1984-2006.

Alabama's Jason Jackson Has Long Been A Top Recruiter

"I think he would be an outstanding choice," Kittrell said. "He knows everything about baseball - recruiting, pitching, the overall game. He's very good in all phases. And he never stopped recruiting."

Kittrell remembers he and his wife Carol had Jackson over for dinner at their home on the water in the off-season when Jackson was at South Alabama.

"He wasn't rude or anything, but he had a headset on at the table," Kittrell said. "And he was talking to recruits constantly the whole time we were eating red snapper that I think I caught."

Jackson apparently fishes well, too, in recruiting ponds. He produced two South Alabama pitchers that were drafted in 2008 and 16 while at Florida Atlantic.

"He's a very hard worker and knows the game inside and out," Kittrell said. "I just hope he gets the chance. He really loves Alabama."

So far, so good.

Alabama's Turnaround Happened Quickly

"These guys impress me more and more every single day," Jackson said Tuesday at a press conference after sweeping his home NCAA Regional over the weekend. "Just the way they've handled everything and just the fight and the resilience. And the way they can focus and block things out."

There was a lot to block out. On the weekend of April 28-30, No. 1 LSU swept Alabama in three games in Baton Rouge. A few days later, Tide players learned their coach was fired for contacting someone to place a bet on the opening game at LSU. Jackson took over on the same day - Thursday, May 4. The Tide beat No. 5 Vanderbilt, 11-2, that night at home.

After a 4-1 loss on Friday, Alabama took the series with a 2-1 win on Saturday. The Tide went on to win series at Texas A&M, which came within a win of a Super Regional, and Ole Miss.

"The love that we have for each of us is because of all we've been through and just everything we've been through this season," pitcher Garrett McMillan (4-2, 4.89 ERA) said. "We definitely care for each other a lot. We believe in each other."

Jackson has never spoken about Bohannon or the gambling since he took over publicly. But he did pause for a moment before leaving for Wake Forest.

"You try to take a step back sometimes and reflect on what the guys were able to accomplish," he said. "I know that once it's all over, it will take some time to sink in. We'll have a lot of good memories of what this team has been able to do. The bond that they have - that stuff's never going to go away."

Maybe it would have all happened this season with Brad Bohannon still coaching. But if Alabama is smart, it will not let Jason Jackson be the fish that got away.