Re: My take on all things assistant coaches...
I'm concerned over the staff but I'm willing to let this play out. The knee jerk reaction is that Alabama is somehow miles behind Clemson now but the score of the game did not reflect the gap. Yes, Clemson was better. If we played the game 5 more times I think they would win all five games. But Alabama has historically won championships when their secondary was filled with veteran players. It seemed everything fed off of that, the sacks and turnovers increased dramatically. and for several of those championships we won with mediocre quarterbacking. We played the season with all first year starters in the secondary and after injuries took out the only pass rush we had the whole thing fell apart. Add to that Tua getting owned by Clemson's DC and you get a blowout.
Alabama enters next season with a number of experienced BD's. that's a critical piece. They need to keep the pass rushers off the operating table, that's also pretty important. If we can add some better MLB play this defense should be a top 3 defense. Then I don't know, we return a FEW offensive weapons and if we can get some better run blocking. There is no reason we can't return to the playoffs. When we get there if we face Clemson we will NOT face that sideline to sideline wall of 1st round draft level defensive line talent. Talking those guys into staying was one of the best recruiting jobs we've seen in modern college football, but they are gone now. Their replacements will be good, but they won't be that good, and they will be carrying the weight of defending champion, the crown is heavy.
So if you are a coach and want to win a championship you can take your shot anywhere but reasonably next years champion will likely be one of the following, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, and Oklahoma. It's possible someone else could sneak up there but it's a long shot. So what would you do if you wanted stories to tell your grandkids one day, coach another year and be happy with a bowl game or stand with the big trophy at the end. If you're not the latter, you probably don't belong at Alabama because that's why we play the game down here.
I'm concerned over the staff but I'm willing to let this play out. The knee jerk reaction is that Alabama is somehow miles behind Clemson now but the score of the game did not reflect the gap. Yes, Clemson was better. If we played the game 5 more times I think they would win all five games. But Alabama has historically won championships when their secondary was filled with veteran players. It seemed everything fed off of that, the sacks and turnovers increased dramatically. and for several of those championships we won with mediocre quarterbacking. We played the season with all first year starters in the secondary and after injuries took out the only pass rush we had the whole thing fell apart. Add to that Tua getting owned by Clemson's DC and you get a blowout.
Alabama enters next season with a number of experienced BD's. that's a critical piece. They need to keep the pass rushers off the operating table, that's also pretty important. If we can add some better MLB play this defense should be a top 3 defense. Then I don't know, we return a FEW offensive weapons and if we can get some better run blocking. There is no reason we can't return to the playoffs. When we get there if we face Clemson we will NOT face that sideline to sideline wall of 1st round draft level defensive line talent. Talking those guys into staying was one of the best recruiting jobs we've seen in modern college football, but they are gone now. Their replacements will be good, but they won't be that good, and they will be carrying the weight of defending champion, the crown is heavy.
So if you are a coach and want to win a championship you can take your shot anywhere but reasonably next years champion will likely be one of the following, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, and Oklahoma. It's possible someone else could sneak up there but it's a long shot. So what would you do if you wanted stories to tell your grandkids one day, coach another year and be happy with a bowl game or stand with the big trophy at the end. If you're not the latter, you probably don't belong at Alabama because that's why we play the game down here.
