Charles Huff remembers intense interview process with Nick Saban at Alabama

Photo by Kent Gidley

Charles Huff learned early on while engaging with Nick Saban at Alabama that persistence was key not only on the job but in the interview process as well.

Huff remembered the tense and stressful process during and interview with The Athletic where the current Memphis head coach was vying for the open running backs coach role on Saban’s staff. Despite starting things off by speaking with quarterbacks coach Dan Enos, Saban would take things over on the back end and surprise Huff with his feedback.

“I’m interviewing with Dan Enos and coach (Saban) is just sitting there in his chair and he’s got the stare of like, you don’t know anything about football,” Huff said. “I go for an hour talking to Dan about pass protection and running and all of these things, and you’re drilling you’re standing up and after about an hour, coach (Saban) says everybody out.

“Then he just says, that was really good. I thought I was doing horrible actually. And we talked so I’m thinking ok, he’s gonna offer me the job, and I’m working at Alabama and he says, we’ll be in touch. And I go like two weeks and I don’t hear from the guy because they’re playing. So I’m like, I guess I didn’t get the job, I’m calling everybody, wondering what should I do? Should I call him? Should I text him, and they’re like, he doesn’t text. And I don’t wanna call him because they’re playing,”.

Although Saban liked what he saw from Huff it wasn’t a cut and dry offer that day or the following weeks for that matter.

Huff wrestled with the decision to reach out to Saban and express his interest in the role. The issue was, Alabama was preparing for a playoff game during that stretch and Saban’s focuses were elsewhere.

“I want the job, so I call him and he’s like, hey man, we’re getting ready for a game, I’ll get back with you,” Huff said.“I’m like well, I screwed that up, so they (Alabama) play and they finish. I don’t think they win a championship but they lost in the national championship.”

Lucky for Huff, Saban didn’t forget about him after the loss and would eventually call him back to officially offer him the job.

“I believe then two or three days later he called me and was like hey, we wanna offer you the job,” Huff said. “I need you to be here today, so I actually got in the car and was in Tuscaloosa in an hour, but it was one of the longest weeks and a half-two weeks of my life, of what should I do?”

Huff turned out to be an excellent position coach at Alabama and helped the program capture a national title in 2020. This would lead him to becoming the head coach at Marshall and Southern Miss, both of which would lay the foundation for his current role at Memphis.

*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber only content!*

Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77