Alabama Football: Will Coach Saban land a championship coordinator duo?
The biggest storyline surrounding Alabama football in this young offseason has been the coordinator searches on both sides of the ball. Naturally, this will remain the most important headline until both positions are settled, which could be any day now.
The offensive coordinator search is relatively new, as the departure of former OC Bill O’Brien was announced just a week ago. Several names have been tossed around in the search, and the newest potential candidate is Washington Huskies offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.
Grubb directed one of the nation’s most prolific offenses at Washington in 2022. He met with Coach Nick Saban yesterday, presumably to discuss the prospects of joining the Alabama football program.
The defensive coordinator search, on the other hand, has taken much longer. Longtime Alabama DC Pete Golding took the same job at Ole Miss 18 long days ago. Two-and-a-half weeks is a very long time to have a vacant coordinator spot. For dedicated Alabama football fans, it has felt more like several months.
Multiple names have risen and fallen throughout the process. On more than one occasion, Bama fans believed they were very close to an announcement, only for several more days to pass without an update.
As it currently stands, former Alabama DC Jeremy Pruitt and current Alabama defensive analyst Todd Grantham appear to be the most likely candidates.
Crimson Tide fans could not be more polarized in their opinions of Pruitt and Grantham.
Jeremy Pruitt coordinated two Alabama defenses in 2016 and 2017 that both finished no. 1 in the nation in both scoring defense and yards allowed. These were the last truly elite defenses that Alabama fielded, as the unit has gradually regressed in every subsequent season under Golding.
Although fans’ desire to rehire Pruitt is partially rooted in nostalgia, there is little doubt that the man still knows his defense and would be a considerable upgrade at defensive coordinator.
Unfortunately, he is currently the subject of an NCAA investigation that stems from his time as head coach at Tennessee. The impending sanctions that could come from this investigation appear to be standing in the way of Alabama football extending an official offer. Still, Coach Saban has shown interest in Pruitt and, at the very least, has contacted him about the position.
Todd Grantham falls way on the other end of the spectrum. Many believe that Grantham, who has formerly been the DC at Georgia, Louisville, Mississippi State, and Florida, employs an outdated style that is ineffective in the modern age.
He seems to be the primary contingency plan if Jeremy Pruitt’s name does not get cleared. The Alabama football fan base has made it known that the response to a Grantham hiring would be everything short of a riot.
At this point, it seems like the ideal coordinator pairing for Alabama football would be Grubb on offense and Pruitt on defense. Could this duo lead Alabama to play complementary football at a national championship level?
Next. More offensive coordinator possibilities. dark
That remains to be seen, but it’s difficult to imagine that they wouldn’t be an upgrade from the last pair of coordinators.