āWhereās Dan?ā: The story of Alabama footballās...
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A blowout national championship loss to Clemson may not have been the biggest shock Nick Saban got last week. Four days later in Tuscaloosa, Alabama was about to have its regular morning football staff meeting when Saban noticed someone was missing. āHey, whereās Dan?ā Saban asked staffers, according to people with knowledge of the meeting, in reference to Dan Enos, the Tideās quarterbacks coach who had just been promoted to become Alabamaās new offensive coordinator... Saban was counting on Enos as Alabama would again have to navigate a staggering amount of staff turnover, even by Saban standards.
But when Alabama lost Clemson last week in a fashion unlike any Saban-coached Crimson Tide team, the defense under the first-year coordinator Lupoi took plenty of the blame... No one seemed to remember that Alabama began the season with only three returning starters on defense, that it had lost its top six DBs to the NFL, its top pass rusher Terrell Lewis to injury and its top cover man Diggs at midseason. It was a group that had to face four of the top seven offenses in the FBS ā two more than Alabama faced in the previous three years combined.
One of the O-line coaches on Sabanās wish list, people familiar with the matter say, was Jeff Stoutland, Alabamaās line coach in 2011 and 2012. Stoutland, now on the Philadelphia Eagles staff, loves Saban but not the schedule that comes with returning to Alabama and becoming a college coach again, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The reality is there is more of a grind coaching at the college level than in the NFL, which does not tie its coaches to recruiting 52 weeks of the year.
In reality, there are three kinds of staff departures in Sabanland. The first is getting a bigger job. Of those 10 future head coaches, Kiffin, Smart, Pruitt, McElwain and Locksley all left to run their own shop. Gattis would fit in this category as well, because he gets the chance to call plays for Michigan.
The second type seems to be unique to Alabama, where some assistants leave for seemingly lateral or lesser jobs. Several of those are coaches who get nudged out or are encouraged to find other jobs. And Saban is well-connected and respected enough to help facilitate interview opportunities. In addition, having Alabama on a rĆ©sumĆ© and being exposed to Sabanās āProcessā makes assistants a lot more marketable. A few of those 10 former assistants who later landed head coaches jobs fit in this spot.
The third type seems to be a much less common situation: An assistant decides life ā and his career ā is better served elsewhere, which apparently was the case for Dan Enos.
The meticulous way Saban runs the Alabama program has become well known in football circles. Itās the grind of all grinds. After the Tide lost to Clemson on Jan. 7, the team spent the entire next day traveling back cross-country from California and didnāt arrive home until late Jan. 8. The staff had to be in for a 9 a.m. meeting the following day. One coach with knowledge of the schedule reasoned that in Sabanās mind that was giving everyone a little break because he didnāt schedule it for 90 minutes earlier.
One ex-Alabama assistant said Sabanās reputation is almost so notorious that he found working for him was not anywhere as rough as he heard it was going to be. But added that the 67-year-old head coach ālacks a real personal relationship with the people he works with. It just feels like a business relationship.ā Another former Tide assistant said he thinks coaches have a much better relationship with Saban after theyāve worked at Alabama than when they are there.
Videos of Saban ripping assistants during games have gone viral, but some former Tide staffers say itās more the day-to-day existence that wears on them.
āYou can deal with getting ripped on the sidelines because thatās emotion during the game,ā says one former Alabama coach. āThatās way easier to deal with. Thatās a couple of times a year. Itās just the non-stop for no reason stuff. When youāre there, then you realize how bull shite it is because itās like scheduled. Like heās going to bitch about the same shite on Sept. 6, or on the third day of camp, that he does every single year. Itās like itās in his notes. So you realize that itās not really just something that came up.ā
In the eyes of many around the sport, that level of achievement in the face of the coaching turnover is one of the most impressive aspects of the Alabama program. āItās one thing to have the unheard of success heās having with the number of championships, but to be able to do it with new coaches each year is unbelievable, because I know for us at Clemson, the stability that we have is part of our success and I think it would be very difficult with a lot of turnover,ā Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said. āProbably one of the biggest accomplishments in my opinion that Coach Saban has had is keeping that high level of success even with coaches leaving for other opportunities.ā
That fact also wows one of Sabanās former assistants. āHe turns over six assistants and still plays in the national title game. He thrives and does his best in what everybody else would perceive as chaos. His ability to function within that is phenomenal. I think the world of the guy,ā the assistant said.
