Alabama Football: Five D-Coordinators with best chance to slow the Crimson Tide
By Ronald Evans
No. 2 – Auburn Tigers DC, Kevin Steele
Steele has holes to fill on the defensive line and in the secondary. The linebackers, led by K.J. Britt will be very good. Steele will need a big year from defensive end, Big Cat Bryant. Bryant and others are needed to build a new pass rush after the NFL departures of Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson.
The best thing for Steele is Gus staying out of his way for another season. That and the fact Steele and his Auburn defenses have had some success slowing Alabama football offenses.
The worst thing is also related to Gus. Auburn must rebuild its offensive line. The result could be a Gus offense, less capable of moving the chains. Steele has been great at Auburn but if the offense struggles in key games, the defense might wear down.
No. 1 – Georgia Bulldogs DC, Dan Lanning and Co-DC, Glenn Schumann
Defense will be the strength of the Georgia Bulldogs in 2020. Kirby Smart has issues, but not on defense. His rebuilt offensive line and transfer quarterback will not be proven before Sept. 19. Bryant-Denny will be a very unfriendly place for the new players to communicate. Even if the game were in Athens, a new offensive line would struggle while it learns to play together.
The Bulldogs had arguably the nation’s best defense in 2019. Georgia was No. 1 in Scoring Defense, No. 2 in Opponent Yards-Per-Play and No. 3 in Total Defense. Dan Lanning deservedly gets credit for season’s stats. Kirby Smart has yet to prove himself as a top head coach. But, without question, Smart, with a big assist from Schumann, is a recruiting wizard. No other college football defense can match the Bulldogs’ talent.
Under Todd Monken, the Bulldogs offense will improve. Which will in turn make the Georgia defense even better. If 2020 became a return to an era when defense won championships, Georgia would a favorite to win it all.
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It will be interesting to see the defenses fielded by Todd Orlando, D.J. Durkin, Barry Odom and Zach Arnett in their new SEC, DC gigs. Not to slam the four coaches, but the Alabama football offense should feast on them in 2020.