Besides a few holdovers, it’s a brand new coaching staff for Alabama football this season. With Nick Saban retired, Kalen DeBoer is set to coach his first game for the Crimson Tide on Saturday.
With the new group comes a new gameday operation system. On Monday, the Crimson Tide announced which coaches will be in the upstairs box for Saturday’s season opener against Western Kentucky.
Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan will be up in the box. He’ll be joined by UA safeties coach Colin Hitschler.
The rest of the staff will be down on the sideline, including defensive coordinator Kane Wommack. The change comes just as college coaches are finally permitted to communicate with players on the field using helmet radios.
“I think they’ve done a great job really trying to refine how they want that communication to happen,” DeBoer said Monday. “And working closely with those players and where the communication, the devices in the helmets, ‘What did you like? What don’t you like?’ So, the game happens fast. We want to make sure these guys are able to play fast. The preparation throughout the week, the preparation we’ve had all fall camp, that’s what these guys got to really rely on for most of what they’re going to get.”
DeBoer spoke of the balance between reminding players of key information, and not overwhelming them with chatter before a play. Quarterback Jalen Milroe will have the communication in his helmet for the offense, while linebacker Deontae Lawson will for the defense.
“I thought they’ve done a really good job the last couple weeks, really the scrimmages we really tried to lock in on the times where just, ‘What’s this going to feel like?’” DeBoer said. “And there’s two major scrimmages, but we scrimmage and move the ball a lot against each other offensively and defensively all through fall camp and just trying to hone in on that one thing that might be something you say, or nothing at all.”
Alabama and Western Kentucky are scheduled to face off at 6:05 p.m. CT Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be aired on ESPN.
