There's a bit of a discussion going on in the recruiting forum, but I thought it was worth discussing some aspects here. Early on in Saban's tenure I lamented the fact that special teams seemed to be an afterthought. However, after considering a lot of the intricacies, and the realization that Alabama is actually pretty good on special teams (I know given some place kicking issues that's hard to accept but they're generally above average) made me accept that that was how things had to be. There are competing schools of thought, from mocking Auburn for giving a scholarship to a long snapper, or questioning key players being used on special teams, to calling for a dedicated special teams coach, and Alabama giving a long snapper a scholarship.
With the impeding addition of an extra on-field coach, people are starting to wonder if Alabama should or will add a special teams coach. For comparison purposes, I saw there were only 6 dedicated special teams coaches in the Power 5. While this can be expected to go up, there's good reason for few dedicated special teams coaches. While it might seem weird that Alabama has a running back/special teams/associate head coach, special teams is a division of labor. You can't have the same guy position coaching place kickers, gunners, kick returners, punt returners, long snappers, holders, and punters. They're too disparate, you can't just line them all up and have them do the same drills.
So, when people suggest Alabama get a special teams coach, I think the main thing people are thinking of would be someone who is capable of coaching the kickers and punters. The problem is that's a pretty limited scope. That sort of guy does exist though. Chris Gould was a punter and place kicker in college, he went on to be a "special teams quality control coach" at Syracuse, and he also ran his own punting and kicking camps. He's now coaching with the Broncos. The trick though is the Broncos can have unlimited on-field coaches and they have 20.
Gould is actually an assistant for Brock Olivo now. Brock is the Broncos Special Teams Coordinator. He was a special teams phenom in college, but most assuredly not a kicker. He was good enough on special teams to land a job in the NFL for a few years. The problem is I don't think a guy like Brock is who a lot of people have in mind when they suggest a special teams coach. They want someone like Gould. However, with half as many coaches as the Broncos, can Alabama really afford to have a guy who can only coach place kickers and punters? Isn't that still too little to ask of someone who takes up such a valuable resource?
I'd love to imagine a kicker who is capable of overseeing the entire special teams effectively, but that's just hard to picture. Kickers are usually good for little else and asked to do little else. While many NFL teams do have kickers on the team in some coaching capacity, almost all of them have special teams coordinators and almost all of those coordinators were not kickers. It is easy to see the advantage of a special teams coordinator though. He could fulfill a similar role to that of the offensive and defensive coordinator. He could draw up plays, prepare for opposing special teams, call plays, etc... I can't imagine this is something Burton Burns really has a lot of time to do given his other roles.
So, the dream would be someone who could be a positional coach for kickers and punters, be a special teams coordinator and assist in recruiting of not just kickers, punters, and long snappers, but ideally help attract players that would shine as gunners and returners as well. However, I fear even if a special teams coach is added, the likely choice will be between a special teams coordinator or a kicking coach. Which would really be best for the team?
With the impeding addition of an extra on-field coach, people are starting to wonder if Alabama should or will add a special teams coach. For comparison purposes, I saw there were only 6 dedicated special teams coaches in the Power 5. While this can be expected to go up, there's good reason for few dedicated special teams coaches. While it might seem weird that Alabama has a running back/special teams/associate head coach, special teams is a division of labor. You can't have the same guy position coaching place kickers, gunners, kick returners, punt returners, long snappers, holders, and punters. They're too disparate, you can't just line them all up and have them do the same drills.
So, when people suggest Alabama get a special teams coach, I think the main thing people are thinking of would be someone who is capable of coaching the kickers and punters. The problem is that's a pretty limited scope. That sort of guy does exist though. Chris Gould was a punter and place kicker in college, he went on to be a "special teams quality control coach" at Syracuse, and he also ran his own punting and kicking camps. He's now coaching with the Broncos. The trick though is the Broncos can have unlimited on-field coaches and they have 20.
Gould is actually an assistant for Brock Olivo now. Brock is the Broncos Special Teams Coordinator. He was a special teams phenom in college, but most assuredly not a kicker. He was good enough on special teams to land a job in the NFL for a few years. The problem is I don't think a guy like Brock is who a lot of people have in mind when they suggest a special teams coach. They want someone like Gould. However, with half as many coaches as the Broncos, can Alabama really afford to have a guy who can only coach place kickers and punters? Isn't that still too little to ask of someone who takes up such a valuable resource?
I'd love to imagine a kicker who is capable of overseeing the entire special teams effectively, but that's just hard to picture. Kickers are usually good for little else and asked to do little else. While many NFL teams do have kickers on the team in some coaching capacity, almost all of them have special teams coordinators and almost all of those coordinators were not kickers. It is easy to see the advantage of a special teams coordinator though. He could fulfill a similar role to that of the offensive and defensive coordinator. He could draw up plays, prepare for opposing special teams, call plays, etc... I can't imagine this is something Burton Burns really has a lot of time to do given his other roles.
So, the dream would be someone who could be a positional coach for kickers and punters, be a special teams coordinator and assist in recruiting of not just kickers, punters, and long snappers, but ideally help attract players that would shine as gunners and returners as well. However, I fear even if a special teams coach is added, the likely choice will be between a special teams coordinator or a kicking coach. Which would really be best for the team?
