Nick Saban created a dynasty at Alabama, that’s inarguable. The Crimson Tide are national title contenders every season and have won six national titles under Saban.
But, the last two years have not been up to par when you consider the lofty standards at Alabama. The team hasn’t won a national title in that timespan, and this year they didn’t even make the College Football Playoff.
A big part of that problem was the defense. Their overall rankings were good, but they got torched in their biggest games. They gave up 84 combined points in their two losses to Tennessee and LSU. More than that, though, the defense lacked the nastiness that made Saban’s defenses so famous over the years.
Defensive coordinator Pete Golding “moved on” to Ole Miss, opening up the job at Alabama. And, now, Saban has his man in former Alabama, Clemson, and Auburn defensive coordinator, Kevin Steele.
BREAKING: Kevin Steele is leaving the Hurricanes to become the defensive coordinator at Alabama, a source confirmed to the Sun Sentinel.
Miami is now looking to replace both coordinators after just one season.
ESPN’s @ClowESPN first reported. https://t.co/9mJXCC2Psh
— Adam Lichtenstein (@ABLichtenstein) February 6, 2023
Steele most recently served as the defensive coordinator for Mario Cristobal’s Miami Hurricanes.
But, some Alabama fans aren’t thrilled with the 64-year-old, especially after Jeremy Pruitt was rumored to be in contention.
10th best defense in the acc? Nick went and hired his buddy… this is a lateral move…we had a top 20 defense pic.twitter.com/KT1Vv6tWBv
— T'Challa (@king_tchalla) February 6, 2023
It’s objectively bad he’s been awful his last 5 stops
— diner (@thedinerplate) February 6, 2023
Bama will only need to score 65 points a game to win…..and you like this guy?
— Tony mize (@Tonymize8) February 6, 2023
At the end of the day, I’ve got to trust that Nick Saban knows what he is doing. He’s proven that.