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Some highlights of the article:
Nick Saban gets it. The Alabama head coach built his program on having a dominant defense and a powerful run game. And yet … Saban sees that defensive backs can no longer clutch and grab receivers with impunity. He sees his safeties and linebackers have their keys destroyed on a weekly basis by guards who climb to the second and third level on passing plays, making his defense react to the run — well beyond the allowed three yard buffer the rules allow. And he sees how ready quarterbacks are out of high school. And he sees how the traditional negative outcomes associated with passing the football have disappeared or dissipated.
And so, he’s adapted to it.
"It used to be that good defense beats good offense. Good defense doesn't beat good offense anymore,"
There’s been an offensive transformation in Tuscaloosa. Saban realizes that passing in the current college climate, with these rules, is so much more efficient than pounding the ball into the line of scrimmage.
But his former understudies at defensive coordinator- Kirby Smart, Jeremy Pruitt and Will Muschamp - have not been able to achieve those results. Saban’s former defensive coordinators have been SEC head coaches for 17 seasons. Combined, they average an offense which ranks 58th and a defense which ranks 24th.
Will Muschamp had numerous quarterbacks at Florida who failed in Gainesville under his watch yet went on to be successful after transferring to other schools and are still in the NFL. He had constant coordinator changes. At south carolina he lacked the players he needed to run his offensive system and his game management was lacking. It's pretty clear after 9 years of coaching in the SEC, his offensive game skills are lacking.
At Tennessee, the offense has regressed every year that Pruitt has been at the helm. They have one of the lowest rates of throwing the ball on early downs. Instead of setting their QB up for success with easy throws, they try to force the ball with the running game. Opponents know this and load the box, The results are unfavorable down/distance and throwing situations. Tennessee must stop playing the game like it was played in 1998.
Kirby Smart might be the former Saban defensive coordinator-turned-head coach who gets it and is willing to play modern football. His parting of ways with coordinator James Coley and bringing in Todd Monken to run a more wide-open offense would suggest so. As does bringing in transfer quarterbacks Jaime Newman and JT Daniels. It’s possible that Smart realizes how many points are required to win at the highest levels even though the results haven't been there for him yet.