Alabama Football: Brian Daboll Bama’s New Offensive Coordinator

Alabama Football will hire New England Patriots’ Tight End Coach, Brian Daboll as Offensive Coordinator.

Alabama Football new Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll may think coaching in Super Bowls is the ultimate pressure. He is soon to encounter a totally different and truly treacherous terrain. And I am not talking about his future sideline consultations with Nick Saban. I doubt Bill Belichick scorched him less when Brian Daboll erred as a Patriots coach.

No, the terrain to which I refer is the ground made unstable by Alabama Crimson Tide fans and our expectations. Simply put, we have a long history of expecting perfection from our Offensive Coordinators. Mal Moore experienced it coaching under Paul Bryant. Homer Smith knew it as well as Bill Curry’s and Gene Stallings’ Offensive Coordinator.

No matter how brilliantly those men and others executed their tasks, a loss, any loss and their standing in the Tide Nation plunged.

Over the past few days, Tide fans have scrutinized and sometimes sullied Daboll as the Tide new OC.

I hope Brian Daboll is ready for the pervasive second guessing that comes with the territory. As ready that is as anyone can be. The good news for Daboll is that he only has to satisfy one person, even if that one person may be the most demanding man in the game.

Daboll has worked before under the cloud of unfulfilled expectations. In NFL Offensive Coordinator gigs at Cleveland, Miami and Kansas City, Daboll was at best underappreciated and at worst, reviled.

Check out this clever tweet from a Kansas City fan, commenting on Daboll’s tenure as Offensive Coordinator for the Chiefs:

And there was this video of Marshall Faulk slamming Brian Daboll and Rich Eisen implying Daboll is a “tool.”

Pretty harsh criticism indeed. Before Tide fans rush to judgment, let’s listen to Daboll explain his offensive philosophy:

Brian Daboll was a graduate assistant working for Nick Saban at Michigan State in 1998-1999.

Daboll’s NFL experience started with New England in 2000.  He left New England after the 2006 season to become Quarterback coach for the Jets in 2007 and 2008.

From 2009-2012 Daboll was Offensive Coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, and Kansas City Chiefs. He returned to New England in 2013 and has been the Patriot’s Tight Ends Coach since 2014.

No doubt, Bill Belichick recommended Daboll for the Alabama Offensive Coordinator position.

Bottom line, if Bill Belichick and Nick Saban believe Brian Daboll is right for Bama, who can argue with the two best coaches in football.

What style of offense will Daboll employ for the Tide? The answer is simple – whatever offense Nick Saban believes will give the Crimson Tide the greatest opportunity to succeed. And that should be all we Tide fans need to know. Until a loss to Tennessee or LSU or Auburn, let’s give the man a chance.

Next: New Players for 2017 Tide

Daboll as Offensive Coordinator may not be the “Quarterback Whisperer” some fans believe is needed. But he’s about to be a Tide guy so let’s give him a chance.