Nothing has changed more in the course of its sports history than college football. Whether it is conference realignment, the postseason format, or all the recruiting changes, the sport always keeps evolving.
For some coaches and programs, this change can be frightening and can leave them in the dust, and for some, they adapt to the change and thrive.
The greatest coach of all time, Nick Saban, was the best of the best at changing to the times of the sport.
Nevertheless, that doesn't mean Saban was always fond of the change; he just accepted it because that's what it took to win.
Now, Saban is out of the coaching realm and is free to speak in whatever manner he wishes, and that's exactly what he did on Urban Meyer's show The Triple Option .
The first aspect the former coaches discussed was the introduction of spring recruiting visits that removed the available time to coach the current team.
"We've passed a lot of legislation relative to college football that has made it more difficult to spend time with your current team," Saban said. "I think the biggest change was when, as you mentioned, when they changed the recruiting calendar to allow spring (and) summer visits, that really took away from those were almost sacred times (spring and summer practice)."
Saban also admitted the change it took to be away from his team and put trust in the other coaches to maintain the standard.
"When spring recruiting was over, you (previously) had a lot of time to spend with your team, especially throughout the summer," Saban said. "That's all kind of disappeared. And I think the biggest change for me as a coach, was how much responsibility you had to put on the strength coach and other people in the organization who couldn't recruit as much.
"But they had to have great relationships to try to reinforce the culture that you were trying to get your players to compete to," Saban said. "So, it is a dramatic change from just the last five years."
That change will continue as the results of the house settlement that will allow schools to directly players goes into action next year.
Kalen DeBoer has shown his ability to work his way through the variety of programs and cultures he has coached at so far, and now he is stepping into more change in Tuscaloosa.
He's shown he can do it before, and there's no reason to doubt he can't do it again.
Related: Kalen DeBoer Continues To Impress With First Recruiting Class At Alabama
Most Popular
Comments / 0