Well, I agree, of course, but we've certainly seen enough to start making some judgments about tendencies and the like. As I said above, the ball looks spread around a bit more, but I don't see any real sea changes from CJM's philosophy, and it's one which matches Saban's expectations. I guess Bebes is happy with what he sees. I remember when he used to rail about Homer's "extended handoff" offense and call for more downfield passing...
I think you're basically right. We obviously had some coaching turnover, but I think for the most part it has been Nussmeier acclimating himself to what we do more than us making any major changes and implementing what he would have brought with him. Of course, though, I figure that was one of his big selling points anyway, in that he could transition in quickly with few changes because we ran similar schemes.
We'll see what happens on down the road. I've been pleased with the early returns, and at the very least he's not a dud (you hire someone like Loeffler, you know how bad it is almost immediately). That said, just not sure he can put together and call a perfect game like McElwain did against Florida in 2009 or LSU in 2011. I'm hoping the answer is yes, but that's just one of those things you have to see first. You've got to be bona fide and big-time to pull off something like that, so he'll have to prove himself in time.
I think we're a bit more versatile in the passing game now, like you mentioned in a separate comment, but I don't know if that's much of a philosophy change, if any at all. In the four years under McElwain we didn't have QB play nearly as good as we have now, and we had a few legitimate superstars at the skill position (Julio, Ingram, and Richardson). I think the offense at the time took that into consideration and the QB became more of a game manager who tried to get the ball in the hands of the star players. Now, though, I don't think we really have that same standout player, but we've got much better QB play and a lot of talent across the board, even if no one true superstar, per se, so we operate a bit differently. I still don't think that is much of a philosophical change, though, as much as it is just making some minor changes to fit current personnel.