What Nick Saban thinks could be ‘beneficial’ for Alabama’s defense

Nick Saban and Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack have shared a few conversations this offseason about defense and coverages.Saban was asked about those talks Friday on the Pat McAfee Show, and he said he loves “talking ball with anybody who wants to talk.” Saban still has an office at Bryant-Denny Stadium. “Kane has come over several times and we talk about things,” Saban said. “Kirby (Smart), myself, some of the other guys, are real, split safety man-to-man is a lot different than middle of the field man-to-man. I think it’s a little safer. I still think you can get good run support out of split safeties. That’s a thing Kane has not done a lot of but I think he wants to add to things he wants to do in the future, which I think could be beneficial and take a little bit of pressure off the secondary.” Saban said middle of the field coverage can put more pressure on the cornerbacks who have to play man-to-man. “And they have good corners,” Saban said. “The corners put the sort of limitations on your defense, and I don’t think they’re going to have any limitations on theirs and I do hope they play more man to man.” Saban specifically brought up third downs to Wommack, the Alabama defensive coordinator said in August. “I thought he had some really good points of having one or two more variations of things that we can do to be able to complement some of the stuff that we’re already doing,” Wommack said. Wommack also talked coverages specifically. “To be a dominant defense, you’ve got to be able to go play some press and man,” Wommack said. “And that’s something that we’ve always done. We did more of it in 2024. And then last year, did a little bit less for a number of reasons. But something that I hope that we’re moving back in a direction to where we feel like we can do that and also play a couple variations of some matchier style.” coverage.”Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. In 2024, NSMA named him Alabama Sportswriter of the Year, and the Football Writers Association of America honored him with the Edward...