Fans were not dancing in the streets of Tuscaloosa after the University of Alabama football program hired Brian Daboll at offensive coordinator, but head coach Nick Saban wants the players to trust that whomever he has entering the Capstone will have their best interest at heart.
His connections with Saban at Michigan State (1998-99) and head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots proceed him; nevertheless, Daboll has yet to work with a dual-threat quarterback.
He’s tutored a multitude of playmaking wide receivers—Brandon Marshall, Troy Brown, David Givens, David Patton, Deion Branch and Reche Caldwell—but the quarterbacks he mentored as a play caller and position coach left much to be desired, aside from Brett Favre (New York Jets, 3,472 passing yards in 2008).
After winning five Super Bowls during 17 seasons in the National Football League as an assistant, the 41-year now takes on the demands of Saban and a fan base that desires nothing less than a national championship.
Listed below are three reasons why the move for Daboll was necessary for the Tide.
1. No more drama
As intense as Saban is (and he is), drama is one of his pet peeves.
The hires of both Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian both came with added drama. Whether it was the on-field a** chewings or Kiffin’s mishaps off the field, Saban and Kiffin were at each other’s throats more times than not.
As for Sarkisian, Saban looked beyond his drinking issues and extended him a chance. Despite promoting him to offensive coordinator for the College Football Playoff national title game versus Clemson, the philosophies of both he and Saban differed. Reflecting back on former Crimson Tide play callers Jim McElwain (2008-11) and Doug Nussmeier (2012-13), not a lot of people knew who they were upon being hired at Alabama.
McElwain, who was at Fresno State in 2007, joined Saban’s staff in the following year.
He would compile a 48-6 record, including two BCS national championships in 2009 and 2011 and a Southeastern Conference championship in 2009. McElwain helped produced two national championship signal callers—Greg McElroy and AJ McCarron—three 1,000-yard rushers—Glenn Coffee, Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson and two 500- plus yard wide receivers in Julio Jones (1,133 in 2010) and Marquis Maze (627 in 2011) during his tenure at the helm.
Nussmeier would build off McElwain’s success in 2012, assisting both Eddie Lacy (1,322) and T.J. Yeldon (1,108) to 1,000-yard seasons. He guided McCarron to a second national championship and first conference title as the starting quarterback. Nussmeier also made it easy for Amari Cooper to adjust, as he totaled 59 catches for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. In the next year, Nussmeier had two 500-plus yard rushers—T.J. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake (694), a 3,000-yard passer—McCarron (3,063) and three 500-plus yard receivers in Cooper, Kevin Norwood (568) and DeAndrew White (534), earning a 24-3 record after two seasons.
With no one having much information on Daboll (negative wise), Saban can clearly focus on helping him in getting this squad prepared to win a national title in the upcoming fall.
2. Ball Control/Preserving the defense
It hurts losing defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Dalvin Tomlinson and linebackers Reuben Foster, Tim Williams and Ryan Anderson to the National Football League, no matter how good the next recruiting class is.
With this being said, Saban does not want his unit on the field for 80-plus snaps like it was in the national title game against Clemson. He wants the offense to score, but more than that—Saban wants to use clock and not overthink the play calling. Quite a few times in Kiffin’s tenure there were moments in which he went away from what was working. This brought on frustration for Saban, the players and Tide fans, as the offense would grow stagnant down the stretch of 2016.
Though he never held the title as running backs coach, Daboll witnessed 11 500-plus yard rushers in nine seasons as an offensive assistant for New England. He was on the offensive side of the ball in three of its five Super Bowl winning seasons (2003-04, 2016), including two that featured a 1,000-yard back (Corey Dillon, LeGarrette Blount).
In his time under Belichick, Daboll knows to go with what’s producing. He navigated eight 1,000-yard backs and understands how to maneuver some schemes within a spread offense. Having Damien Harris, Bo Scarbrough, Josh Jacobs and a host of others in the backfield should bode well for Daboll. The returns of Da’Shawn Hand, Da’Ron Payne, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Rashaan Evans and others to the Tide’s defensive front will provide much impact; however, it’s an unknown as to whether they’ll be as dominant as recent groups.
3. Hands-on experience with a dual threat QB
What do Chad Pennington, Brett Favre, Brady Quinn, Colt McCoy, Matt Moore and Matt Cassel all have in common? They are not true dual threat quarterback. All work within the pocket.
Daboll has experience with game-changing running backs and superstar wide receivers, but he’ll inherit a quarterback that creates damage with his footwork in Jalen Hurts. As mentioned, all of his coaching stops had some form of spread offense implement—yet and still, the idea of an athletic signal caller was missing.
Hurts rushed for nearly 1,000 yards in 2016 (943), but his passing mechanics tailed off during the latter portion of the season. Reading progressions and improving accuracy on throws are two elements Daboll will focus on with Hurts. While co-offensive coordinator Mike Locksley has been training quarterbacks and receivers in Alabama’s fourth quarter program, being around Daboll will give Hurts a feel for new strategies.
He set the school’s single season record with 36 touchdowns.
In conclusion
Whether one is drawn to a big name or not, Alabama success under Saban didn’t start with a marquee name.
Three of its four national titles came from two coordinators that embraced their role and were ready to get to work. Daboll, much like McElwain and Nussmeier, is excited to collaborate with Saban and more importantly, assist the school to its 17th national championship.
Stephen M. Smith is a managing editor and columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @Smsmith_TDALMag.
