Alabama coach, Texas A&M settle contract dispute without lawsuit

Alabama special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Jeff Banks works with his players April 7 in Tuscaloosa.

As the 2018 football season approached, an Alabama assistant coach faced a potential lawsuit from his former employer.

The Texas A&M board of regents' Aug. 16 meeting agenda listed authorization to pursue legal action against Jeff Banks, who left A&M in January to become Alabama's special teams coordinator and tight ends coach.

With the Aggies set to come to Tuscaloosa on Saturday, that fight is over.

The breach of contract dispute was settled in early September before a lawsuit was filed, Devin Bonik, Banks' agent, told AL.com. Details of the settlement were not immediately available and Texas A&M declined comment.

Banks' contract at Texas A&M required him to pay the full buyout of the remaining money he was to be paid if he left for another SEC school, The Eagle of Bryan, Texas reported.

The deal Banks signed with Alabama in May stated UA would pay up to $457,448 of his buyout with his previous employer. He was set to make $375,000 a year at Texas A&M through March 2019.

Saban on Wednesday said he always thought Texas A&M's special teams were very well coached when Banks was in charge. When the NCAA added a 10th assistant, Saban said he wanted someone who specialized in the third phase.

"He does a really good job with our special teams. I think we've made some changes in that area that have been beneficial to our team. It's been a work in progress with our players to make those changes, but we've been pretty productive so far in our return game. Obviously, we want to do the best job we can to continue to develop our specialists and develop consistency in that area. But it's been a real positive for our program."

Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.

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