Nick Saban needs 'more balance' from Alabama's offense this season
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — With over 25 years of head coaching experience, you will hear a good lesson or two.
During his Thursday press conference, Alabama head coach Nick Saban shared a story about Mal Moore, who died 10 years ago today. While watching film in his office, Saban said Moore came to visit while the head coach was struggling to teach a player proper technique.
That player would become Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, but Saban was struggling to get the future 1,600-yard rusher to carry the ball with the correct hand. With no answers as to why the running back would carry the ball that way, he asked Moore for advice.
"I said to Mal 'I don't know how we're going to get this guy to carry the ball the right way,'" Saban said. "He said 'You know when I was coaching the quarterbacks' — I forget the quarterback's name. He said 'I told coach (Bear) Bryant, that if (the quarterback) did something with his throwing motion, it would really make him a better passer.' Coach Bryant looked at him and said 'Don't mess with the guy.' He was telling me not to mess with Mark Ingram."
Saban allowing Ingram to carry the ball in the wrong arm paid off as not only did he capture the Heisman Trophy in 2009, Alabama went on to go 14-0 and capture its first national championship since 1992.
In a way, Saban has always kept the idea of allowing players to be what they are regardless of how it fits into his system throughout his tenure at Alabama. It's one of the main reasons why the Crimson Tide has been able to keep up in the ever-changing world of college football. From ground-and-pound, to run-pass option, to more of an air raid, Saban has been flexible throughout, despite varying results.
This spring he's using Moore's philosophy again with his hire of new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees who takes over for Bill O'Brien. Last season, Alabama ranked in the top 20 in passing offense, averaging more than 281 yards per game. However, the team's rushing attack was less potent as it averaged 195 yards per game, good for 30th in the country.
"I think what we did last year was what we needed to do to try to win," Saban said. "I'm not being critical of what we did last year. We didn't run the ball well enough last year but we featured the players that we had. Bryce (Young) was an outstanding player and we wanted to have him do what he can do."
The departure of Young means more than 8,000 yards of offensive production goes out the door with him to the NFL and with a quarterback battle ensuing, it's an ideal time to make a few tweaks.
Enter Rees who spent the last six seasons with Notre Dame, three as the team's offensive coordinator, getting the best out of less than elite talent out of the quarterback postion. Rees was responsible for the development of Ian Book, who became the winningest quarterback in program history and became the first Notre Dame signal-caller with at least 2,500 passing yards, 500 rushing yards and 30 TD passes in a season.
He also helped Jack Coan and Brandon Wimbush have career seasons with the Fighting Irish despite not having professional success. As a result, Rees' offenses averaged 33.4 points per game in 2020 en route to the College Football Playoff, followed by a 35.2 points per game to rank 19th nationally in 2021 and 31.8 in 2022.
"I think when we have better balance I think it'll take a little pressure off the quarterback so," Saban said. "I think the offensive line has done a good job so far. I like where we're headed and what we're doing. I think the scheme that we have to run the ball is well tied together. Hopefully between that and play-action passes we can make a few more explosive plays and not just rely on dropping back all the time. I think that would be very helpful."