B
By Alex Byington Sports
TUSCALOOSA — Throughout the nearly two-week search for Alabama’s newest offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll always seemed like a bit of an enigma.
Despite two decades in coaching, including the last 17 in the NFL, the longtime disciple of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was a relative unknown, especially to his new players.
“We didn’t really have a choice but to just kind of accept it,” rising junior running back Damien Harris said Thursday. “You just have to have a positive outlook and be like, ‘Coach Saban wouldn’t put us in any sort of position that wasn’t beneficial for us.’ That’s how we looked at it, that he was only trying to do what was going to help us be the most successful.”
But while he may have been a bit of a mystery, Daboll’s pedigree having worked under a who’s who of coaching nobility spoke for itself.
“I feel like he's a really smart guy,” Tide junior receiver Calvin Ridley said two weeks ago. “Obviously, he was with the Patriots and has won a lot of games and Super Bowls, so I respect him.”
From there, Daboll’s introduction to the team was a bit of a process.
“He was trying to get to know us just as much as we were trying to get to know him,” Harris said. “It was kind of a communal effort to try to establish ourselves as an offense. We wanted to show what we could do as players, and he wanted to show us how he was going to coach us. We all just kind of had to come together.”
Now, two weeks into spring practice, Daboll’s personality has begun to show more and more, both on the practice field and in meetings.
“He’s got a great personality,” rising junior tight end Hale Hentges said last week. “It’s really about the players. He cares about the players. He really, you know, wants us all to succeed. That is something I really enjoy. I feel like I have a personal relationship with him already even though he’s only been here for a couple of months.”
As offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Daboll can often be found working with his trio of underclassmen signal callers: sophomore Jalen Hurts and freshmen Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa.
“Personally, I’ve just seen a guy who really cares about his quarterbacks,” Hentges said. “Whether it’s at practice or in the meeting room, he’s always taking them under his wing and saying: ‘What were you seeing on this read?’ or ‘Why’d you throw that ball?’ or ‘Hey, that was a great pass.’"
Daboll’s positivity has also bled into other position groups, especially among Alabama’s tight ends, all of whom have seen the success that Patriots tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett have experienced with Daboll as their position coach the last few years.
“You know, I’ve seen a lot of great stuff as far as tight end goes,” Hentges said. “I don't think it’s any secret that Daboll loves tight ends coming from New England. So I think from that aspect we're going to have a lot of great opportunities in the tight end room. I think you can see that on the horizon, some expanded tight end roles.”
So, while there remains some mystery regarding how exactly Alabama’s offense will look in its first season under Daboll, the first-time collegiate coach is already drawing rave reviews for how quickly he’s picked up on intricacies of his new job.
“Brian’s done a really good job,” Saban said last month. “He’s worked really hard with the coaches that we have to make some changes in the offense but also try to keep the things that we do well, things that Jalen can do well and maybe that our young quarterbacks can do well, which is going to be important for us.”
Decatur Daily—Continue reading...
Despite two decades in coaching, including the last 17 in the NFL, the longtime disciple of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was a relative unknown, especially to his new players.
“We didn’t really have a choice but to just kind of accept it,” rising junior running back Damien Harris said Thursday. “You just have to have a positive outlook and be like, ‘Coach Saban wouldn’t put us in any sort of position that wasn’t beneficial for us.’ That’s how we looked at it, that he was only trying to do what was going to help us be the most successful.”
But while he may have been a bit of a mystery, Daboll’s pedigree having worked under a who’s who of coaching nobility spoke for itself.
“I feel like he's a really smart guy,” Tide junior receiver Calvin Ridley said two weeks ago. “Obviously, he was with the Patriots and has won a lot of games and Super Bowls, so I respect him.”
From there, Daboll’s introduction to the team was a bit of a process.
“He was trying to get to know us just as much as we were trying to get to know him,” Harris said. “It was kind of a communal effort to try to establish ourselves as an offense. We wanted to show what we could do as players, and he wanted to show us how he was going to coach us. We all just kind of had to come together.”
Now, two weeks into spring practice, Daboll’s personality has begun to show more and more, both on the practice field and in meetings.
“He’s got a great personality,” rising junior tight end Hale Hentges said last week. “It’s really about the players. He cares about the players. He really, you know, wants us all to succeed. That is something I really enjoy. I feel like I have a personal relationship with him already even though he’s only been here for a couple of months.”
As offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Daboll can often be found working with his trio of underclassmen signal callers: sophomore Jalen Hurts and freshmen Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa.
“Personally, I’ve just seen a guy who really cares about his quarterbacks,” Hentges said. “Whether it’s at practice or in the meeting room, he’s always taking them under his wing and saying: ‘What were you seeing on this read?’ or ‘Why’d you throw that ball?’ or ‘Hey, that was a great pass.’"
Daboll’s positivity has also bled into other position groups, especially among Alabama’s tight ends, all of whom have seen the success that Patriots tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett have experienced with Daboll as their position coach the last few years.
“You know, I’ve seen a lot of great stuff as far as tight end goes,” Hentges said. “I don't think it’s any secret that Daboll loves tight ends coming from New England. So I think from that aspect we're going to have a lot of great opportunities in the tight end room. I think you can see that on the horizon, some expanded tight end roles.”
So, while there remains some mystery regarding how exactly Alabama’s offense will look in its first season under Daboll, the first-time collegiate coach is already drawing rave reviews for how quickly he’s picked up on intricacies of his new job.
“Brian’s done a really good job,” Saban said last month. “He’s worked really hard with the coaches that we have to make some changes in the offense but also try to keep the things that we do well, things that Jalen can do well and maybe that our young quarterbacks can do well, which is going to be important for us.”
Decatur Daily—Continue reading...
