Alabama Football: Best-Ever Nick Saban Assistant Coaches
By Ronald Evans
Alabama Football Assistant: Inside Linebacker
The Nominees: Kevin Steele (2007-2008 and 2014); Sal Sunseri (2009); Kirby Smart (2010-2013 and 2015); Jeremy Pruitt (2016-2017) and Pete Golding (2018)
There will dissension among Alabama football fans on this choice. Clearly, it is not Kevin Steele. And just as clearly, based on one season, it is not Pete Golding. Sal only worked with inside linebackers one season, when he also helped James Willis with the outside linebackers.
By process of elimination, that leaves Kirby Smart and Jeremy Pruitt. By the body of work and national championships count, it would be unfair to exclude Kirby.
We can choose Kirby as the best Saban inside linebackers coach and also point out Kirby would have never become the now-successful head coach he is without the guy he worked for. Kirby used to make a similar statement about the impact of Nick Saban on his career. He doesn’t mention it much anymore unless directly prompted in response to a question.
That is okay too. He paid his dues. Running from Nick Saban’s shadow may not be admirable but it is excusable.
As inside linebackers coach for five of the nine seasons he was in Tuscaloosa, Kirby personally coached such stellar signal callers as Dont’a Hightower, CJ Mosley, Reggie Ragland and Reuben Foster.
Honorable Mention: Jeremy Pruitt