Saban promoted a defensive coordinator from within, Tosh Lupoi. It did not go well. Pete Golding ascends to the DC role after Lupoi departed for the Cleveland Browns.
There is a lot of work ahead of Golding as Tide’s 2018 national rankings dropped:
- 2018 Rushing defense (19th)–2017 (1st)
- 2018 Passing defense (33rd)–2017 (6th)
- 2018 Total defense (16th)–2017 (1st)
- 2018 Scoring defense (12th)—2017 (1st)
All stats plummeted from Jeremy Pruitt’s direction the previous season. Any improvement from those rankings will be considered an upgrade.
Pushing the returning leaders at all three levels (Raekwon Davis, Dylan Moses and Xavier McKinney) is vital for improvement. Last season, only three starters returned. Fans were little concerned because Alabama football reloads, rather than rebuilds. Seven starters return for the upcoming season giving more hope the defense will return to its dominant form.
After the Clemson loss, an anonymous Power 5 defensive coordinator declared everyone was witnessing the beginning of the end of the dynasty. Against that prophecy stands college football’s most iconic head coach prepared to battle any team for the soul of college football.
The drama will be intense. Coaches no longer want to beat Alabama; they want to bring the Crimson Tide temple crashing down. As he always does, Saban is adapting to change and forever striving to build a new team to seek perfection.
Alabama football faces its most critical season under Saban. Does the Alabama dynasty crumble or can it rise from the ashes? We are less than 200 days away from finding out.