🏈 Alabama officially releases new coaching staff

[ElephantStomp]

We had the lead with 2 seconds to go and our defense on the field‍

We also punted the ball 10 or 11 times in that game. More than any other game of the year. And our execution on 3rd down was nonexistent. Ballgame.

Sark to blame for this last game too? We had a superstar staff and got whooped, so you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t buy the stats are god thing

 

[AirForceBamaFan]

Maybe all smoke/no fire, but...

 

[PurlJam]

My honest and most forthright knowledge about all this...... I don't know

 

[TerryP]

Keep him sober! We just might be ok!

This is both sad, and a little funny. But more sad. It's become somewhat of a running joke among some and quite frankly, in my view, it's not a good look on anyone.

If you recall, there were Bama fans posting about him being drunk on the elevator at the NC game. That "story" carried for a few days and I've seen people refer to it in the last few days. Yet, there wasn't any truth to the story in the first place.

What Enos perceived as his "market value," combined with a few things he wanted that didn't fit with what Saban is wanting to

Details? what are the few things that did not fit?

It's really no different than what happens in any job interview. Consider we've seen people make light of different schools and the number of people they chose to speak with concerning open positions. Also keep in mind these people don't know what happens in those interviews. IE: UT--did any one know what Pruitt was after when he stared interviewing? Yes, it's certainly noteworthy people look at the Tennessee job as what it is—it's a rebuild. But, it's also certainly a fact we don't know what Jeremy was after or what those he spoke with planned on doing if they were given the position.

Money did come into play but in reality that's not an issue. If Saban wanted to keep Enos, and have him as his offensive coordinator, he would. Financially, Miami doesn't bring a lot to the table versus the "war chest" of Bama.

On another note: A lot of the times when we've seen offensive coordinators hired at schools we've seen them be given the right/responsibility to hire their own offensive line coaches and other position on the offense. Often that's considered a good thing but you'll find those situations also involved very unstable situations with programs and their respective coaches.

With Enos: If he's coming into the position wanting for one, the OC job and se condly the ability to hire his own personnel...do you think that's two men seeing eye to eye within the interview process?

Last, but certainly not least, is what Enos brought to the interview about where he wanted the offense to go versus what Saban has in mind for the direction of the Bama offense.

There's a lot of moving parts here and even more rumors and innuendo being spread about this period. And yet, it is moving along at the same pace and through the same procedures as we've seen over the last decade.

 

[BamaFan334]

Dude is a good coach he just wasn’t good in the NFL, happens to a lot of college dudes that try the NFL i.e Saban for one

His job in Atlanta was to allow the most explosive offense in the league do it's job, and we absolutely sucked

Where was he good?

I don't follow the NFL as closely as you guys do. But I'm thinking I'm following it in the correct degree when I consider...

"His offense in Atlanta was bad" yet ranked #6? Atlanta had a down season that was magnified by injuries on defense--but that's on Sark as well.

In this thread we've seen Long is a down grade but his time at Memphis and Notre Dame—where both teams had improvement on the offense—isn't weighed into the conversation.

Sark is being judged on one game. One. It wasn't a ideal situation for any one on any team. But, he sucks because he didn't run a guy that was injured.

You'll have to have a degree of faith in Saban if you're going to support Sark. I realize that may be a stretch for some...that faith in Saban thing.

You are correct, defensive injuries hurt, but it was more about offensive playcalling. Any team can put up yards, so #6 means zero to me when you sport a losing record. Georgia Tech has the #1 rushing offense in the country most years, yet they lose 5-6 games every year. Julio was targeted a seriously low amount of times in the redzone. Awful play calling during major moments of these games. It was bad enough to get him fired in two years.

The National Championship game was undoubtedly a tough position to be put in, but the guy was with the team all year, head man at two big time universities. This wasn't his first time on the sidelines. To me it was honestly a position to just not screw up. Probably our most talented team defensively and very good offensively.

He just seems on a decline to me. His drinking will be a daily struggle forever, and you have to wonder in the back of your mind if it will resurface while he's on your staff. I will always sit with Saban's ultimate decision, but in a profession where so many younger guys could be a better option I just wonder, especially after he failed another team of mine. Alabama means way way way more to me than the Falcons, so it's just concerning.

 

[BamaFan334]

Why would we go back to someone who doesn't know how to run the ball when required? Dude lost us a big game, then went to Atlanta and their offense was pretty bad. No reason to go backwards.

Dude, he doesn't know how to do anything right, not just run the ball. Half of Atlanta's offensive success this year was Matt Ryan changing the play and the other half was him just chucking it up and Julio going up and getting it.

Dude is a good coach he just wasn’t good in the NFL, happens to a lot of college dudes that try the NFL i.e Saban for one

So good he was fired at USC for being a drunk. He also was mediocre at Washington and USC.

Yes, we had the lead with two seconds left, but the point is we should have never been in the situation to lose that game. His job in Atlanta was to allow the most explosive offense in the league do it's job, and we absolutely sucked. Comparing that to Saban is ridiculous, because Atlanta had every piece of the puzzle offensively to ein, the Dolphins did not. Plus Sarkesian was running one part of the team, Saban the entire team. Major difference.

Fired for being drunk means you can’t coach? I was comparing it in the sense that some coaches are better suited for college than the NFL and vise versa obviously I wasn’t comparing an OC to the HC!!

Apparently it was because he was pedestrian at USC, reportedly drank during games, and was fired for it. Left us after an opportunity and got fired from there in two seasons. Evidence doesn't support him being the guy for the position in my mind.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

I have read that today is D-Day for defensive staff changes (if any). Rumor that Todd Bates (Clemson defensive assistant) was in TitleTown this weekend. We'll see. Losing your entire DL might be a good reason to get out of town........Paul Kersey......"by sundown?"

 

[rocknthefreeworld]

I was going to complain that Sark didn't make decent halftime adjustments as it always seemed they played the prevent offense in the second half, then I pulled the stats. Atlanta averaged 12.8 points in the first half and 13.2 in the second (both of those up over the previous year BTW). Their defense allowed 11.9 in the first half and 14.1 in the second (also up from the previous year but up a lot more than offense). Not going to win a lot that way.

 

[TerryP]

You are correct, defensive injuries hurt, but it was more about offensive playcalling. Any team can put up yards, so #6 means zero to me when you sport a losing record.

So if you have a bad defense that allows other teams to stay in the game, and win, that's on the offensive coordinator?

Look. If it wasn't for Tosh and what happened at USC we'd be looking at Tua playing on the west coast. Specifically, for Sark. There's a close relationship. There's always been one.

Now, if you like, take a look at what he did with Matt Ryan this season and then weigh it out with "he didn't do a good job."

Ryan didn't break any of his own records this season but did put up numbers close to those. It was the 2nd highest totals in QBR, Yards per attempt and second highest yards per game of his career. His completion percentage? 2nd highest again. TD's? 2nd, again. It was the lowest INT rate of his career. (H/T to Teddy on compiling those figures and he's a basketball guy.)

If wins and losses are the end all, be all, then Kiffin wouldn't have had the success he had at Bama. Neither would Locks. Hell, if we're going to use the NFL to grade how a guy will do in college Saban and Stallings wouldn't have had the careers at Bama they did.

 

[Alabama17Tide]

Predicted UA Staff for 2019-20 | BamaInsider.com

(one of the "insiders" at BamaInsider.com

Here’s my predicted staff as of tonight.

Secondary- Lorenzo Ward / Nick Saban
ILBs / Defensive Coordinator: Kevin Steele
OLB: Lance Thompson
DL: Bo Davis
Special Teams/TE: Banks
RBs: Pannunzio
WR: Lance Taylor
OL: Kyle Flood
QB / OC: Sark

 

[alabama mike]

Its not my decision.
Its not my decision to make.
Its not my decision to make and I do not get paid to make a decision I have no reason to make.

 

[Justneedme81]

Predicted UA Staff for 2019-20 | BamaInsider.com

(one of the "insiders" at BamaInsider.com

Here’s my predicted staff as of tonight.

Secondary- Lorenzo Ward / Nick Saban
ILBs / Defensive Coordinator: Kevin Steele
OLB: Lance Thompson
DL: Bo Davis
Special Teams/TE: Banks
RBs: Pannunzio
WR: Lance Taylor
OL: Kyle Flood
QB / OC: Sark

I find that hard to believe we would bring back Lance Thompson and Kevin Steele... especially when we still have Tosh/Peter on staff. I thought it was rumored we would see 2 members leaving... and that is 9 position... who will be the 10th coach. That is why I don't believe this.

 

[Tidestalker]

I don't see the disdain for Sark.... I understand why some would be hesitant due to the Clemson debacle.... But at the same time, , knowing what we know about Jalen at that point in his career - Scoring 31 in your first game with 2 weeks to game plan in your first game as the OC isn't that terrible.

I think most of us dislike how in our big game losses we seemed to have abandoned the run game too quickly... But when it's multiple coordinators I think it points more towards the 1 constant... And we all agree no one wants to replace him.

Next year's O will be so dynamic that they are going to score tons of pts regardless of the OC. Always comes down to that 3-4 games where limiting TO's and making some great play calls will be huge. If Saban trusts Sark then it's a go! The main thing is getting Tua back into a rhythm of not turning the rock over and finding the balance where both run and pass play so well off each other that the D has to pick a poison.

I think the bigger issue is how Sark is likely yet another 1 and done deal... But I felt since the start of last year this would be Saban's last dance regardless.... Which will be another thread topic in the next few days .

 

[jdpas29]

Any chance Saban takes a look at early retirement? Just wondering... Couldn't really blame him though he is still pretty young as far as coaches go.

 

[BamaFan334]

I don't see the disdain for Sark.... I understand why some would be hesitant due to the Clemson debacle.... But at the same time, , knowing what we know about Jalen at that point in his career - Scoring 31 in your first game with 2 weeks to game plan in your first game as the OC isn't that terrible.

I think most of us dislike how in our big game losses we seemed to have abandoned the run game too quickly... But when it's multiple coordinators I think it points more towards the 1 constant... And we all agree no one wants to replace him.

Next year's O will be so dynamic that they are going to score tons of pts regardless of the OC. Always comes down to that 3-4 games where limiting TO's and making some great play calls will be huge. If Saban trusts Sark then it's a go! The main thing is getting Tua back into a rhythm of not turning the rock over and finding the balance where both run and pass play so well off each other that the D has to pick a poison.

I think the bigger issue is how Sark is likely yet another 1 and done deal... But I felt since the start of last year this would be Saban's last dance regardless.... Which will be another thread topic in the next few days .

I made a point earlier about him being on the staff all season and he knew more than just dropping a guy out of nowhere into that position. He was a head coach for goodness sakes, knew our offense, knew our players, and has plenty of game experience. 31 points is a little deceiving because Bo Scarbrough scored 14 in the first half with his great runs where he simply wouldn't go down. We essentially made two plays on offense the second half where Howard beat a busted coverage for a long touchdown and a flea flicker from Stewart to save the game at that point. Hurts would then score on a coverage play where he pulled it down and ran. Yes, it was 31 points, but we weren't exactly efficient and left our defense out there for 100 snaps or whatever it was. When was the last time that happened?

 

[Tidestalker]

I don't see the disdain for Sark.... I understand why some would be hesitant due to the Clemson debacle.... But at the same time, , knowing what we know about Jalen at that point in his career - Scoring 31 in your first game with 2 weeks to game plan in your first game as the OC isn't that terrible.

I think most of us dislike how in our big game losses we seemed to have abandoned the run game too quickly... But when it's multiple coordinators I think it points more towards the 1 constant... And we all agree no one wants to replace him.

Next year's O will be so dynamic that they are going to score tons of pts regardless of the OC. Always comes down to that 3-4 games where limiting TO's and making some great play calls will be huge. If Saban trusts Sark then it's a go! The main thing is getting Tua back into a rhythm of not turning the rock over and finding the balance where both run and pass play so well off each other that the D has to pick a poison.

I think the bigger issue is how Sark is likely yet another 1 and done deal... But I felt since the start of last year this would be Saban's last dance regardless.... Which will be another thread topic in the next few days .

I made a point earlier about him being on the staff all season and he knew more than just dropping a guy out of nowhere into that position. He was a head coach for goodness sakes, knew our offense, knew our players, and has plenty of game experience. 31 points is a little deceiving because Bo Scarbrough scored 14 in the first half with his great runs where he simply wouldn't go down. We essentially made two plays on offense the second half where Howard beat a busted coverage for a long touchdown and a flea flicker from Stewart to save the game at that point. Hurts would then score on a coverage play where he pulled it down and ran. Yes, it was 31 points, but we weren't exactly efficient and left our defense out there for 100 snaps or whatever it was. When was the last time that happened?

Look at how many our next OC scored in the first half of the title game with the same QB.....

 

[BamaFan334]

I don't see the disdain for Sark.... I understand why some would be hesitant due to the Clemson debacle.... But at the same time, , knowing what we know about Jalen at that point in his career - Scoring 31 in your first game with 2 weeks to game plan in your first game as the OC isn't that terrible.

I think most of us dislike how in our big game losses we seemed to have abandoned the run game too quickly... But when it's multiple coordinators I think it points more towards the 1 constant... And we all agree no one wants to replace him.

Next year's O will be so dynamic that they are going to score tons of pts regardless of the OC. Always comes down to that 3-4 games where limiting TO's and making some great play calls will be huge. If Saban trusts Sark then it's a go! The main thing is getting Tua back into a rhythm of not turning the rock over and finding the balance where both run and pass play so well off each other that the D has to pick a poison.

I think the bigger issue is how Sark is likely yet another 1 and done deal... But I felt since the start of last year this would be Saban's last dance regardless.... Which will be another thread topic in the next few days .

I made a point earlier about him being on the staff all season and he knew more than just dropping a guy out of nowhere into that position. He was a head coach for goodness sakes, knew our offense, knew our players, and has plenty of game experience. 31 points is a little deceiving because Bo Scarbrough scored 14 in the first half with his great runs where he simply wouldn't go down. We essentially made two plays on offense the second half where Howard beat a busted coverage for a long touchdown and a flea flicker from Stewart to save the game at that point. Hurts would then score on a coverage play where he pulled it down and ran. Yes, it was 31 points, but we weren't exactly efficient and left our defense out there for 100 snaps or whatever it was. When was the last time that happened?

Look at how many our next OC scored in the first half of the title game with the same QB.....

I don't recall this being a conversation about who had the better Championship play calling. Hurts was put into a position to score, but could not convert. It also looks like the decision was on Coach Saban to make the QB change, not his coordinator. The decision others wanted for most of the year beforehand from stories I've heard. You're also looking at this as a one game decision on my behalf when I have continually pointed to the other pieces of his career.

 

[JoshB]

Dude is a good coach he just wasn’t good in the NFL, happens to a lot of college dudes that try the NFL i.e Saban for one

His job in Atlanta was to allow the most explosive offense in the league do it's job, and we absolutely sucked

Where was he good?

I don't follow the NFL as closely as you guys do. But I'm thinking I'm following it in the correct degree when I consider...

"His offense in Atlanta was bad" yet ranked #6? Atlanta had a down season that was magnified by injuries on defense--but that's on Sark as well.

In this thread we've seen Long is a down grade but his time at Memphis and Notre Dame—where both teams had improvement on the offense—isn't weighed into the conversation.

Sark is being judged on one game. One. It wasn't a ideal situation for any one on any team. But, he sucks because he didn't run a guy that was injured.

You'll have to have a degree of faith in Saban if you're going to support Sark. I realize that may be a stretch for some...that faith in Saban thing.

No. 1, I think you're being a bit silly to suggest that Long ISN'T a downgrade from Locks, no? Though he would be a MASSIVE upgrade over Sark.

No. 2, go ask a single Falcon fan how great Sark was. He was fired for a reason... Numbers definitely lie sometimes. Atlanta had solid numbers offensively, on paper, because of the sheer talent. I wish someone would do a study on how often Matt Ryan audibled to something else, honestly but Sark's play calling was abysmal more often than not, especially in the red-zone. He also had an extremely bad habit of abandoning the run when it was working, which will earn him tons of praise at Alabama...

I trust Saban but I'm not going to just close my eyes and pretend I dont see an issue when I see one. It's my opinion but its one based off of my own eyes and I will HAPPILY admit that I was wrong if Sark proves me wrong. Problem is, I'm pretty confident he is going to prove me right and 2019 will be a wasted season. Especially if his job will also be to "develop the QBs." Can you name a single QB he "developed?"

All I will say is I hope they hide all the liquor in T-Town.

 

[TUSKtimes]

Sark was stinking up the offense his first year for the Falcons. The fans were not happy, even though they were playing better defense. I thought they went back to more of the spread concepts that Mattie Ice is much more comfortable running in his second year. The running game and the red zone was nothing that was going to scare anyone. In short, his time in Atlanta is downright scary to put on anyone's resume, even with our talent.

 

[JoshB]

. Never did I think Saban would give Sarkisian a ring after Sarkisian bolted from Alabama following the Crimson Tide's 35-31 loss to Clemson to take the Atlanta Falcons Offensive Coordinator position in 2017.

This may be one of the most off-based observations I've seen. A college offensive coordinator gets an offer from a NFL team to be the OC and he leaves. But, that's a bad thing because he's improving his lot in life.

That my friends, is just bullshit. How anyone could fault a coach for moving up to the big leagues....it's lost on me.

I'm not going to pretend like I know what Saban thinks about something but there is not a single thing in Long's background to suggest he is even close to the level of someone like Locks or even Enos.

You're not going to pretend you know what Saban is thinking yet you're going to suggest you know more than he does about coaches and what they bring to the table? That's pretty much how this reads, Josh.

No, that's how you've twisted it to fit what you're trying to make it. How many times have you seen me claim to know more than Saban. Just stop. You're pretty much demanding that I just shut my eyes and pretend like I don't absolutely hate a hire. Sorry, not doing that. I'm very open to being proven wrong but I dont think thats going to happen. Because, honestly, I think Sark is not a good football coach. Period. Not to mention that he is far from a long-term answer here. We are ALL sick and freaking tired of seeing half the staff go elsewhere ever year. Guess what happens next year - if there is a miracle and Sark does well? He's on the next thing smoking back to the NFL.