Why Nick Saban Changed His Philosophy (Late Kick Cut)

Nick Saban and Alabama just wrapped up another National Championship giving the Tide 6 since Saban arrived in 2007. On Late Kick Live Ep 125 Josh Pate discussed how he views Nick Saban's legacy and the pivotal move he made several years ago that solidified his spot as the greatest head coach in the history of college football. In this video Josh reacts to video of Nick Saban explaining why he decided it was time to change the identity and philosophy behind Alabama Football in 2014. How do you think things may have played out if Saban didn't make that decision? Let us know what you think in the comments below and be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the channel and CLICK THE BELL for notifications as we bring you multiple live shows per week!
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[@JoshPateCFB]

Thanks for watching guys. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the channel and LIKE the video! And follow Josh on Twitter & IG: twitter.com/LateKickJosh - - instagram.com/latekickjosh

[@rylancarl4770]

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[@blazejason5551]

@Rylan Carl Instablaster :)

[@rylancarl4770]

@Blaze Jason Thanks for your reply. I got to the site on google and im in the hacking process atm. Takes a while so I will reply here later with my results.

[@rylancarl4770]

@Blaze Jason it worked and I actually got access to my account again. I am so happy! Thank you so much you saved my account :D

[@blazejason5551]

@Rylan Carl You are welcome =)

[@hman1801]

Saban does what it takes to win even when he doesn't necessarily agree with the philosophy and that's championship mentality.

[@RT22-pb2pp]

Reminds me of great racers. One famous motorcycle racer in a book on his career floored me. At the start of every new season he asked for new season rule book. He would study it and come up with plan to use the rules to his advantage. Won many titles and he admitted he was not the most talented or fastest but he was most consistent. He did thing and folks said he cheated, he would say check the rules I am following them to the letter. He used little known rules to gain advantage, from rules most did not even know about. Saban sees what is allowed or not and works hard between those lines to gain advantage over lazy coaches.

[@RT22-pb2pp]

He is the goat for titles and the fact he won them with totally different styles of game. When run and d won he did it the best. When scorefest was way to win he did it best. Name your style, he will do it better. That is why he is the GOAT.

[@brittjohnson7171]

You are so spot on

[@chrisowens7873]

Nick Saban asks if you are sure this is how you want college football to be and then beats you into the ground with it when you say yes.

[@PatchesMalone]

Yep I remember how the CFB world mocked Saban after the Johnny Football led upset loss back in 2012, SugarBowl w/Oklahoma, and the back to back Ole Miss losses in 2014-15 because of his criticism about spread/ no huddle offenses....... And just as you said....he studied,prepared, adapted and now do those things better than just about Any of em. And it's just not the offense, the 2016-2018 defense he crafted( more speed on the edges lighter interior defensive linemen, lighter linebackers that could run sideline 2 sideline) all those thinks to choke and frustrate the opposition. That's why he the GOAT on the collegiate level

[@jimmcewen9351]

Josh remember when Scott Cochran leaving was supposed to be a death blow for Bama, you could do a whole other segment on how the new sports science and performance coaches give Saban yet another edge that it will take programs 2-3 years to catch up to.

[@justaladyinalabama513]

It was great not have pre-season ending injuries

[@tgtg7182]

A lot of other teams are copying every single thing that Alabama does, so it won't take more than a year.

[@Legal_Savant]

@@tgtg7182 You can replicate, but you can't duplicate.

[@AlphaDwg]

saban also went into matching personnel and why they insist on it no matter how "complicated" it makes the defense. Ohio St learned that lesson the hard way against Bama this year lol

[@wingstop7021]

The thing that is really scary tho, comin from a Tennessee fan is that Saban is still recruiting the best classes we have ever seen. His defenses these next couple years are gonna be really scary

[@savvydaughter7368]

Lol I'm an Alabama fan but I live in Tenessee. If Tenessee can ever pull a win off of Alabama orange is going to appear all around me!

[@wingstop7021]

@@savvydaughter7368 lol I’m from Mobile Alabama so I feel you brother, I was born behind enemy lines 🤣

[@savvydaughter7368]

@@wingstop7021 I'm a huge Alabama fan because both of my parents went to the university of Alabama and my extended family lives in Alabama but I've never lived in Alabama! In fact my Mimi and Pop live right outside Mobile!

[@paverdaddymcslingsabrick896]

@@savvydaughter7368 yea im just outside of Knoxville, But it makes screaming Roll Tide all the more sweet!

[@EulogyfortheAngels]

That stat at 4:45 should be changed to #1 in points-per-game. The team that scored more ahead of them was Kent State, and they only played 4 games (30% of Bama's total)...that's not a fair comparison. It's like giving the best QBR to that random WR that throws 1 pass and it's a TD. Bama was also 5 points-per-game ahead of the team behind them.

[@neneshubby]

Saban would never recruit a guy like Mount Cody today.. He used to recruit huge lineman and linebackers to stop power running games at Auburn and LSU and he had to totally change that philosophy as the offenses changed.

[@chriswalker5812]

Nick Saban asked them to slow down the tempo of the game for the players safety, every body said that he was whining and crying so he said fine if it's in the rule book I'm going to do it too so now he's just going to recruit better faster athletes and beat everybody else to death at their own game.

[@PatchesMalone]

Natural selection is governed by adaptability. It's speaks volumes of his mentality to improve something in such a way that it opposed his norms

[@RT22-pb2pp]

Like evolution, adapt or die. Nick adapts, so reports of his death have been greatly exagerated.😄

[@thinktwice8860]

The way you get an edge on Bama is to enact rules changes that will handcuff Bama more than other schools, kind of like was done with the 3 (or 6 ha!) yard rule for pass blocking. Maybe Phil Fulmer could spread some more bs too! Lol!

[@Legendary_UA]

Josh is on fire lately

[@headlessshorsey]

How long will it take for other "talking heads" to start saying the same thing? There are quite a few of them that don't appreciate greatness...ie the ones that claimed bama was done, the ones that claimed dabo was the new goat.

[@RT22-pb2pp]

Not long, what they failed to see was when nick was changing team type we fell off a bit while making transition to new style team. We were not done just adjusting to more pass oriented football. No rebuild, no reload, just retooling to fit new style game. Oh espn talking heads, he is still winning titles lol. Nick will always be 3 steps ahead of the so called football experts.

[@grantbland2084]

Yeah...except the little fact that Saban tried to outlaw the hurry-up/spread offense with Bielema and the other out-of-touch coaches citing that it was “dangerous” for players and now he runs that very offense.

[@jetmech9287]

I'm predicting that before Saban retires, we'll see the rules shift back in the other direction and CFB will be more like it was around 2009 or so.

[@slimmdusty8809]

Was better back then anyways before the same 5 teams had a monopoly on it, So it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

[@RT22-pb2pp]

One thing is content, things always change. Not sure what it will look like in 5 yrs, but it will be different.

[@cfbjared8509]

I love the way we're winning, but if given the choice I would chose to go back to the power run and amazing defense days. The only difference now is we would have elite qbs along with that amazing rush attack and defense, efficiency would go through the roof.

[@crammons7330]

I'm all for improving player safety while also keeping the intensity and integrity of the game, but it's gotten to where defensive players have to either limit their abilities and intensity at their positions to the extent where guy's are going to be afraid to make contact and tackle someone without getting penalized or tossed out for targeting....defensive rules need to be tweaked back a notch I believe and we'd have the best going at it and performing at their best on both sides of the ball which would be nice to see in this all offensive sided style we're in currently

[@jetmech9287]

@@crammons7330 What do you think about re-evaluating how targeting is called? Seems like the offensive player lowers his head far more often than the defensive player. Should we see more offensive players tossed?

[@sphhuntsville2525]

All facts Josh....allllllll facts.

[@daafrothoafro8338]

This is evident in his overall defensive schemes. He used to run a base 4-3 model with slight changes. He had massive Defensive lineman accompanied by 250-260 pound linebackers who were thumpers. Once the spread took over, he switched to the Gary Patterson 4-2-5 model of defense and started recruiting guys like Dylan Moses and Mack Wilson at linebacker.

[@rt2255]

Nick ran boa constrictor defense wrap you up and slowly suffocate you. Offenses got pass happy so he now runs cobra defense, smaller but fast striking defense. Change styles again. No problem, he will adapt and beat you in any style.

[@Mike-sp7zv]

Your lack of credit to Jim Tressel needs updated for your OSU video, but this one was great.

[@rolltide9897]

Colors weave into a spire of flame

[@sphhuntsville2525]

Saban=🐐....Point blank.

[@Mike-sp7zv]

@@rolltide9897 I tried sending a link to the E3 one. I have a smash bros playlist and the instrumental is close to the top. Ig sending just a link is spam. Isn't showing on my end

[@mcdon030]

Good stuff, but I like to believe Kiffin only hung that much on us because he had ALL our defense signals. Now all coaches do it, but I’m not betting man and would bet they were right when they said he had all their defense calls. Bama played better teams and they could not do what kiffin did. Kiffin is good but not that good

[@mcdon030]

And yes sour milk

[@garudain77]

What’s RPO?

[@narvel5082]

Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans gave Saban a front row seat to times a changing. No team in Alabama history had ever given up over 600yds on defense. It was time.

[@RT22-pb2pp]

Yep now Saban's offenses put up 600 but while doing so his defense do not give it up. He has perfected more balance score a bunch more and only give up a little more than your best defenses. Bama used to win 21 to 10, now 50 to 25. Yes we give up a bit more points but we score a bunch more. The.piint differential is now even larger on average

[@monkeyattackedmyass5435]

Well said.

[@tgtg7182]

The rule changes were made to try to keep the best teams from winning, mostly Alabama, those rule ought to be called the Alabama rules, just like the Jordan rules.

[@epp6787]

*Saban rules

[@dhuck470]

Lol

[@RT22-pb2pp]

But rules cannot change one thing Saban is just better. When defense won he won. Now high scoring offense wins he still wins. He just does it better than others can do se he is a great coach. If game trends to special teams winning games, bet the bank kickers punters and return guys will be his top recruits. Nick just is better and until he retires he will own college football. He will lose now and then but he also will win most games and more titles, bet the house on it.

[@romancaesar47]

Roll Tide

[@zth2851]

What are peoples feelings about the new offensive style of football?

[@RT22-pb2pp]

Not really for or against it, it is what it is. I love Saban adapted to it and now excels at it.defense offense. Whatever just do it better than others.

[@steve3803]

Hate it ! Too confusing for the officials to watch everything. Missed calls on every play . The games are too controversial and the refs gotta look for way too much stuff . Put the lineman back on the line where they belong !

[@Nanu67-e9j]

If nick Saban started coaching the worst power 5 team the Kansas Jayhawks. He would turn them around. But it would take a very long time though.

[@georgiabooi4512]

Lets Get It! Got the key players and coaches! Lets be Smart! @Kirby @KirbySmart @GeorgiaBulldog @GoDawgs

[@phoult37]

The only edge you can get on Bama now is poisoning their QB the day before the game

[@dhuck470]

Even that wont work because the next player up is better than their opponents

[@phoult37]

@@dhuck470 Good point...I wonder how much would you have to pay Bama's players to throw the game?

[@genacide]

💯💯💯💯💯

[@philosopherhobbs]

Everyone from the Big 12 has known offense is better than defense for over a decade. The Big 12 doesn't have the talent of the SEC except for UT and OU but the coaches have been way ahead of the game except in the last couple of years when other teams are starting to adjust. I know because after Colt McCoy went down in the NC game vs Bama, Mack Brown decided he was going to reshape Texas into a team like Bama that focuses on running the ball and isn't dependent on the QB. Mack proceeded to have 4 consecutive crappy seasons and get fired because the entire league was moving in the opposite direction while he was moving backwards.

[@EulogyfortheAngels]

It was a big deal that Texas also proceeded to have around 8 years of busts at the QB position. It's absurdly rare to be able to go from Young, to McCoy, to another elite QB.

[@philosopherhobbs]

Yes, being stuck in quarterback hell and purgatory sucks too, but scheme could have helped out a bunch of those qbs. OkSt, TCU, and Texas Tech have done much more with less because of offensive scheme. Marrying SEC talent with modern offenses is going to make the SEC even better.

[@mashonem]

Offense didn’t become better than defense until rule changes in the past decade made it that way. That sentiment was absolutely untrue 10 years ago, otherwise at least one Big 12 team would have been in the championship game since that Texas team in 2009. And even now when it is true that offense>defense, the Big 12 still manages to be arguably the worst conference in the country (minus the PAC 12). Oklahoma has been getting bounced in the semis damn near every year except this past season when the conference didn’t even make it.

[@philosopherhobbs]

@@mashonem rules helped but spread concepts still would have made offense better than it was. I'm not going to get into pointless debates about conferences. The ACC and Big 10 have one good team each. The other teams are mediocre and the Big 10 is arguably the conference most behind in terms of scheme. Only OSU is doing modern things on offense but even they show they don't fully know where the game is by trotting out 4 dlinemen and 3 linebackers against bama. Any team no matter the conference with enough talent and the right coach can become elite.

[@RT22-pb2pp]

exaggerated. Offense alone does not win titles. Defense has to be sec like not pac 12 caliber. They win games but we win titles, we just score more now. They score 50 but give up 60, hence no titles in those conferences. Even clemson with high scores won titles cause at same time they had good defenses. The teams you speak of can score, but could not stop anyone.

[@Mikevdog]

At $10M, Saban is underpaid.

[@RT22-pb2pp]

Yep AD has stated since his hire revenue directly associated with football is averaging 250 million a yr more than before he got there. Male Moore who hired him said yrs later before he passed, saban is most lucrative investment the university ever made. If alabama was big company and nick CEO he would be making 100 million a yr for the turn around and profits he generates.

[@HDtenor1]

Pretty dismissive of what leach was able to do out there. What was tech before leach? He started something in the big 12 that people ridiculed up until the sports juggernaut eventually did it too

[@RT22-pb2pp]

One difference a few coaches had high scoring offense but nonexistent defense. Saban can score 60 70 but his defenses still hold passing offenses to 20 30, more than running teams but still wins by 20 or 30 points

[@HDtenor1]

@@RT22-pb2pp how'd they do against that really good passing team from lsu a couple years back?? How'd they do against that passing attack from Ole miss?

[@RT22-pb2pp]

@@HDtenor1 they lost no one is perfect but this last yr and last 3 to 4 we out scored passing teams like ole miss florida etc. 7 yrs ago we could not put 50 plus points up, last yr we passed 50 like 7 or 8 times. We stop most passing teams most times. Not always but 7 or more yrs back if a team hung 45 we lost. Not so much anymore. Take any team they have losses but we have less than any team last 5 or so yrs. We do not win everytime but more than any other, no matter the team or its offense or defense. 6 of last 12 national titles how many for ole miss lsu and hell all other teams. In last 13 yrs.ine team bama has 6, all 129 other ncaa div one schools have 6 also. I think that is my point we are even with entire ncaa last 12 yrs and no one or 2 teams even close

[@calebdeaton5388]

They’ll have to beat Saban and the refs to get that win in SEC play. The SEC propped Alabama up in Saban’s early years the same as they did at Florida. I have watched the Hogs get screwed year after year due to small market share and not being a nationally recognized program. The playoff should be setup with the conference champions from each conference, regardless it’s power 5 or group of 5 to eliminate the subject selection of teams and create an equal shot for everyone to play for a national championship.

[@RT22-pb2pp]

How did they prop him up exactly? I do not understand what you are saying. How did they PROP him up?

[@RT22-pb2pp]

Hogs not being bigget is they lose to many games, they screwed themselves not screwed by sec lol

[@musingsofawokehebrew3356]

Because he is slippery as he'll, pace offense is bad until lane kiffin, nil is bad , but he lauds the nil money paid to Bama players ...if it is to his advantage its good.if it levels the playing field its bad if he keeps control of the chattel its good if the chattel have choice and leverage its bad...