If you spent any time on X lately watching Alabama football chatter and portal updates, you have probably noticed one of the smartest guys in the building stirring the pot. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, the current Director of Player Development and a BCS National Champion, is not handing out support stickers or feel-good quotes as Alabama players have entered the transfer portal this week. He is giving us a behind-the-scenes look at what Alabama wants in its players: production, toughness, accountability, and players who WANT to be at Alabama. Not players looking to cash in.
Clinton-Dix threw a social media challenge recently when addressing the flood of Alabama talent entering the transfer portal. Instead of brushing off the departures, he dared fans to do something almost wild in the age of the internet: "Go watch the tape." He asked fans to point out which players deserved to stick around based on actual production, not just based on a few highlights or recruiting stars. Then he doubled down with a pointed line: "Potential -- this is a production business." Producers win games, potential just gets tweets.
That might read as motivational corporate speak on the surface, but in the context of Alabama football, it is something much deeper. Clinton-Dix is not just talking about plays on the field; he is preaching the kind of mentality Alabama historically prizes. A mentality that, at times, they seemed to lack during this past season. No excuses, no entitlement, no cat-like comfort.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix had social media buzzing with his bluntness about Alabama's roster turnover
Which brings us to the fun part, the "dogs, not cats" vibe that's been buzzing around football culture for a decade. The idea was popularized by a viral motivational quote from former Coastal Carolina coach David Bennett in 2011. This was the last tweet from Clinton-Dix, featuring the famous video along with a picture of a growling, feisty, small dog, accompanied by that famous rant. Alabama is looking for players who are grinders, fighters, rats at the ball types who flip the field rather than batting at it. The team is looking to fill roster spots with football players who don't expect to win games just based on their talent, but to win based on production when it is time to perform.
That fits with what Alabama wants its players to be. Nick Saban's program has always glorified the guy willing to do the extra work. It was never about the players with the fanciest highlight reels. Now, Clinton-Dix is reinforcing that culture from inside the building. He is telling guys: If you want to be part of the program, you have to bring it every day. From the film sessions, the weight room, and out on the practice field. All that will roll over into the games. Not the likes and views on edited highlight reels that float around social media.
Players are going to have to take those flashes of talent and turn them into consistent performances. This is exactly the message a Director of Player Development should be sending to recruits, returning players, and incoming transfers.
And let's be honest, the fan reactions to his post tell their own story. Some read it as accountability. Others saw it as a little too blunt. The takeaway is the same. Alabama is looking for players who want to be there for the program's tradition. Players who will be pushing themselves and their teammates to the highest levels, contributing in games, and eventually bringing another championship back home to Tuscaloosa. They are through with guys who look good on paper but don't move the needle when the lights are brightest.
Alabama is looking in the transfer portal and among high schools for the does, the grinders, the "dogs". Even when the roster turnover is rough, that's the mentality that wins championships.