Scott Abell helped the Rice Owls to a rare postseason berth in his first year atop the program in 2025.
Tevin Madison aided perennial powerhouse Alabama as the Crimson Tide returned to the College Football Playoff — the program’s first bid under second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer.
Now, Abell is set to add Madison to his Rice Owls staff.
Sources tell FootballScoop that Madison is set to depart Tuscaloosa, Alabama, barring any unforeseen snags, to take the cornerbacks coach’s job in Abell’s Rice program.
Most recently, Madison has worked for the Alabama Crimson Tide with an official title of “football analyst,” though Madison has been the program’s assistant defensive backs coach.
It’s another step in the Football Bowls Subdivision for Madison, a former three-year player for the Texas Tech Red Raiders who capped his career at NCAA Division II program West Alabama.
In addition to a stint as a graduate assistant coach at Kansas State, Madison has coached at Illinois State and Southeast Missouri State at the Football Championship Subdivision level.
Abell guided Rice to five wins in 2025, his first season atop the Owls program after a decorated run in charge of the FCS, non-scholarship Davidson Wildcats. The Rice program was awarded a bowl berth for its academic standing when there was a shortage of bowl-eligible teams to fill all postseason slots.
Rice, which had mustered a 5-5 mark through its first 10 games of the 2025 season, dropped its final three including the Armed Forces Bowl against in-state foe Texas State.
In 2026, the Owls are slated to open Abell’s second year at the helm at home against FCS program Houston Christian University before traveling to the Midwest for a game at Notre Dame, which is entering Year 5 under Marcus Freeman and has emerged as an early consensus contender for the 2026 College Football Playoff.