Cooper’s Heisman candidacy another measure of success in the Saban era-sds

Alabama is one of the most prestigious programs in college football. With 15 national titles and 28 conference crowns, few schools can come close to competing with Alabama’s team success.

For a dominant program, though, Alabama has not had as many dominant players as you would think. Prior to Nick Saban’s tenure in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide had only had nine players make it into the top-five in Heisman Trophy balloting.
In just eight years, Saban has nearly half of that number. He’s sent four different players to New York as finalists for the award: Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, AJ McCarron and now Amari Cooper. That includes bringing home the school’s first Heisman win when Ingram took the award in 2009.
Under Saban, Alabama has been lauded for, more or less, “playing the right way.” Until this season, there was rarely any flash. There was hard-nosed running and hard-hitting defense. There were quarterbacks who looked the part of superstar but played the role of game manager. In Saban’s first seven years, Alabama’s three Heisman finalists were running backs and a quarterback, the positions that traditionally dominate the balloting.
Cooper, despite not winning, smashed those traditions. He earned every bit of his Heisman votes with his outstanding, record-breaking season, and if not for Marcus Mariota’s near-perfection he would have been a strong favorite. He was the first receiver invited to the ceremony since 2003, a long drought. It’s nearly impossible for a pure receiver to win the award — Desmond Howard, Johnny Rodgers and Tim Brown both did much more than just catch passes — but Cooper came about as close as possible for someone that plays his role.
Just as Cooper dashed past receivers and voting traditions, this year’s iteration of the Alabama offense broke the mold of what everyone has come to expect from Saban’s teams. Much of that stems from Lane Kiffin, hired as offensive coordinator after last season, and the work he’s done with Cooper and first-year starter Blake Sims.
Sims goes against the grain of what Alabama has had under center the last decade. Instead of being a statuesque pocket passer, Sims was able to effectively move his legs to create throwing and running lanes that his predecessors couldn’t. Sims still made Saban happy with his pinpoint accuracy and decision making; he had the capability to do what the men he succeeded and then some.
Despite a nearly unprecedented run of team success — Alabama enters the playoffs with a chance the win its fourth title in Saban’s eight years — individual success is at an all-time high as well. That Saban has been able to coax out such amazing seasons by his players within the context of a dominant team is an accomplishment on its own.

LivingTheCrimsonLife ‏@LivingCrimson 17m17 minutes ago Amari Cooper has eclipsed the receiving records of #Alabama's greatest. Amazing group. #rolltide (@_DCReeves)

Amari Cooper and Lane Kiffin make for a potent pairing-sds

Few moves last offseason made as much noise as Alabama hiring Lane Kiffin as its offensive coordinator. Fewer still worked out as beautifully.

Kiffin helped take Alabama’s offense to a new level, and a big part of that was unlocking Amari Cooper.
That’s not to say that Cooper wouldn’t have played like a star no matter who was calling the plays for the Crimson Tide. But according to Cooper, Kiffin’s smarts are a huge part of what made Alabama work this year.
“He’s a genius as a coach, he’s a very smart coach, he’s a very tactful, schematic guy,” Cooper said.
While most knew that of Kiffin already, there were concerns about how he’d fit in with Nick Saban and the rest of the staff. There haven’t been any problems in that regard, at least publicly. Kiffin even felt comfortable enough in his relationship with the coach to joke about it at the Broyles Award ceremony.
The relationship Kiffin has built with his players has been just as important. The former Tennessee, Southern Cal and Oakland Raiders coach has a reputation that precedes him, but it doesn’t factor into what happens behind the scenes at the Alabama practice facility.

“We consider him one of the guys, we don’t consider him a coach,” Cooper said from the red carpet at the Home Depot College Football Awards.
It makes sense to see Kiffin that way. With the baggy shorts he wears at practice and the aviator sunglasses he’s been known to wear on the sideline, Kiffin dresses more like a college kid than a middle-aged man. With all he’s been through in his coaching career, it’s easy to forget he’s not even 40 years old yet.
Cooper said that Kiffin’s temperatment is one of the things that’s helped keep this Alabama team humming along.
“He jokes around a lot, and he knows when to get serious,” Cooper said. “And he knows when it’s time to play.”
Cooper has had to come ready to play with Kiffin calling the shots. Especially at Southern Cal, Kiffin’s top receivers were in for a heavy workload. Marqise Lee and Robert Woods, both of whom are cashing NFL checks this year, each had seasons with more than 110 catches at Southern Cal during Kiffin’s time there.
This year’s Biletnikoff Award winner is known not just as one of Alabama’s most studious workers in the film room, but also as a beast in training. He’s not shy to admit it, either.
“I (was) ready for it, I’m ready for whatever (Kiffin) throws at me” Cooper said. “I trained so hard in the offseason.”
For a duo as successful as Cooper and Kiffin have been, they seem like an odd couple in terms of personality. Cooper comes across as quiet and thoughtful. While he admits to talking trash to his teammates, he doesn’t say much to his opponents.
“I talk smack in practice all the time, but I don’t do it in games,” Cooper said. “I’m unsure of what’s going to happen so I don’t want to jinx myself.”
For a player as dominant as Cooper has been, especially at a position known for prima donnas, his disposition seems rare.
Kiffin, on the other hand, is the opposite of quiet and reserved. He was caught by cameras signaling a touchdown on the sideline twice in recent weeks, both times before the ball even left quarterback Blake Sims’ hand. Kiffin’s gotten in trouble with his mouth before, and even though he’s been radio silent this year that hasn’t stopped him from talking behind closed doors.

“He’s definitely not quiet,” Cooper said with a chuckle.
On paper, Kiffin’s hiring was a risk. It’s paid off for Saban, who’s been able to watch his offense explode under Kiffin’s direction.
Cooper has been perhaps the biggest beneficiary, with a heavy workload that he was ready to handle. While Cooper does the catching, running and scoring, he just lets Kiffin do the talking.