The scene in Tuscaloosa in 2007 was nothing short of incredible desperation.
Alabama football was in dire need of a winning head coach, so it rolled the dice on someone that gained success at Louisiana State University and spent time in the National Football League. When Crimson Tide fans looked upon Nick Saban, who was 56 years old at the time he got hired, they saw him as the savior to restore Alabama to its glory under Paul Bryant and Gene Stallings.
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Part of the glory was making the Tide into the most feared and respected program in college football.
Coach Saban quickly turned Alabama into Goliath. Opponents wanted no part of the Tide in Saban’s early years.
Teams were mentally defeated before stepping on the field against Saban’s group. Alabama had opposing fans leaving their team’s stadium at halftime because the Tide sucked the life out of the other team. Alabama had players that scared the daylights out of opponents in pregame warmups, and the media in press conferences. Saban prided himself on having a program that was the best conditioned, most disciplined, most effective, craved perfection, and had all small details right. His rigorous mindset and stern attitude propelled Alabama to five national championships and three Southeastern Conference titles from 2009 to 2017.
The COVID-shortened season in 2020 is an outlier, but a chance happened to the Tide since 2018.
Whether it is not having the right assistant coaches/coordinators or missing critical players at key positions in recruiting, teams and coaches are not afraid of Alabama and Nick Saban anymore. It was a time when challenging the Tide on social media was foolishness and one was doomed to be embarrassed on the field. Now, teams want to play the Tide and coaches relish discussing how Alabama is not what it used to be. Jimbo Fisher told boosters at the Houston Touchdown Club in 2021 that he ‘was going to beat Nick Saban’s ass’ while he’s still coaching. Fisher achieved his goal at Kyle Field as Texas A&M earned a 41-38 victory.
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Tennessee and LSU entered their matchups with Alabama with high confidence.
Volunteers’ quarterback Hendon Hooker torched the Crimson Tide’s secondary for five touchdowns. Tigers’ signal-caller Jayden Daniels totaled three scores against Alabama. Both quarterbacks defeated the Tide, knocking Saban’s team out of the College Football Playoff picture. Both teams danced inside their locker rooms because they took down the Tide. Teams and coaches see Saban as vulnerable, and it has started hurting Alabama in recruiting. They are not landing the surefire, transformational talents that invest back into the program like they once did. Saban is getting four and five stars; however, these do not fit the culture.
Alabama’s had success with getting players from the NCAA transfer portal, including Landon Dickerson, Jameson Williams, and Jahmyr Gibbs, but a lot of players from the portal come in not understanding the ‘Bama Standard’ that needs to be upheld.
Saban also lost valuable assistant coaches and has not replaced their value. Names such as Kirby Smart, Jeremy Pruitt, Mel Tucker, Derrick Ansley, Bo Davis, Burton Burns, Bobby Williams, Mario Cristobal, Kyle Flood, Scott Cochran, Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Michael Locksley, and Terry Jones Sr. meant everything to the program. These coaches were able to recruit, teach, motivate, coach, and relate to the players. They cultivated the standard out of each athlete, which allowed Saban to be at ease.
He is no longer at ease and Alabama has become easier to attack because the “OG’s” are not at Saban’s disposal.
When one does not have a team of players bought in at every level and the assistant coaches are not competent enough, the head coach ultimately suffers. No one looks at Alabama with respect, and Saban is suffering. He has to find a way to fix the situation.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
