Alabama football fans, be aware of three things in this post. One is much of what follows relies on belief and speculation. There are few facts available to indicate what will happen in Nick Saban’s search for a new DC and a new OC.
Secondly, the growing acceptance referenced may still represent a minority of Alabama Crimson Tide fans. Based on message boards and social media, many fans question whether Tommy Rees is a good hire, and even more doubt Todd Grantham.
The third point is none of us knows any details about the value Nick Saban sees in the two coaches. The GOAT will only hire who he thinks will best help the 2023 Alabama Crimson Tide. Fan doubts are not unwarranted, based on what is generally believed as hiring or promotion mistakes Saban has made with a few past coaches.
Saban’s miscues though, deserve some context. Many fans thought Saban was making a mistake in hiring Lane Kiffin and Brian Daboll and Steve Sarkisian. Each of those ‘bad’ hiring decisions brought Alabama Football national championships.
Alabama Football’s Next Offensive Coordinator
On the Notre Dame side, there appear to be sources who believe Rees will accept an Alabama Football offer. If Nick Saban has or will offer Rees the job, that endorsement by Saban will match the opinion Brian Kelly holds of Rees. Kelly tried to convince Rees to make the move to Baton Rouge with him.
Rees’ either modest or weak offensive stats are misleading. The difference in offensive talent between Notre Dame and Alabama Football is considerable. Therefore such stats that rank Rees as a bad play-caller are meaningless.
Despite what has been reported, I strongly believe neither Jeff Lebby nor Ryan Grubb turned down an Alabama offer. My guess is those coaches and possibly others are only interested in transplanting their offenses to Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban has never let an OC do that and likely never will.
Will it be Rees? A less than solid hunch is yes.
Alabama Football’s Next Defensive Coordinator
A couple of weeks ago I suggested a strong belief Nick Saban should and would hire Jeremy Pruitt. My prediction, with maybe a 60% confidence, was Pruitt would be a defensive analyst for the 2023 season.
Message board rumors might be correct that Pruitt only wants the DC job. I think Saban wants to hire him as DC but has or will conclude he cannot, due to an active NCAA investigation. Many Alabama fans claim Pruitt has been cleared by the SEC and even by the NCAA, but neither can be true at this point. Saban can hire him, but with an unknown, later price to pay.
If Saban was going to hire Pruitt for the ’23 season, it would have already happened. Since it hasn’t, rumors Saban will go with Todd Grantham may be accurate. Some potential DCs will not come to Alabama because Saban is so hands-on with the defense. Grantham is not one of those guys.
Nick Saban knows exactly what he will get in Grantham. If the veteran coach becomes the Tide’s next DC, Alabama fans have no reasonable choice other than trusting Saban.
Bama Hammer will follow the coordinator searches carefully and add facts to our beliefs and perspectives when they become available.