Alabama Football: Staff continuity matters less on a Nick Saban team
By Ronald Evans
Alabama Football: Fans consider staff turnover as a blessing or a curse. Either way, coaching turnover is the new normal in college football.
Perception allowed to displace reality can lead to flawed thinking. Does Alabama football suddenly have another serious problem because of assistant coaching turnover? Or with Nick Saban in charge, does change afford positive changes?
Answer yes or no to either, neither or both of the questions. The answers will not predict the future. When the Clemson Tigers destroyed the Crimson Tide to win the 2018 National Championship, many Tide fans cited Dabo’s staff continuity as a reason. That claim was reinforced the following season when the Crimson Tide missed its first Playoff final four.
Sharing full disclosure, we were on the continuity is essential to championships bandwagon.
"Compared to Dabo Swinney’s stable staff, Nick Saban’s staff had seen many changes. The Alabama football staff in 2018 included only four assistants from the 2017 season. Only three of them went back to the 2016 season and just one had been on the 2015 staff."
From the perch of the sixth National Championship in 12 seasons, perhaps all of us overreacted. In the first week of this offseason, we might be doing it again. It is safe to say Nick Saban values continuity. He doesn’t value it as highly as coaching knowledge and recruiting ability. He also knows any staff is damaged if as few as one or two coaches are dissatisfied. When that happens, change is best for Saban, the assistant and the team.
A good example is Josh Gattis. Gattis wanted a fast lane to an OC position. Saban had no interest in such a promotion, so a move to Michigan was best. Many of us Alabama football fans bemoaned the loss of Gattis, if for nothing else, for his ability to recruit. We were wrong. Nick Saban was right.
Something very similar may have recently happened with Jeff Banks. Whatever actually happened, trusting Nick Saban handled it correctly is sound. Saban has learned from his infrequent mistakes. He will not value a coach’s recruiting talents greater than the man’s ability to coach.
It takes a staff effort to recruit elite players. But getting those players to sign is easier with the Nick Saban and Alabama Football brands. No one Saban assistant will ever displace the boss as the recruiting ‘rainmaker.’
In today’s college football world, assistants will come and go. Having coached for Nick Saban puts them in high demand. Bama Hammer, Contributor, Jonathan Waldrop looked back at all of Saban’s Alabama football staffs. The average assistant coach tenure was 3.3 seasons.
Next. Players leaving, staying and coaching changes. dark
Change, Alabama football fans, is inevitable. Not too worry as long as the Alabama Crimson Tide has the ‘constant’ of Nick Saban. As other schools chase Nick Saban assistants, Alabama Football will continue to “chase the best version of itself.”