"
It will be interesting to hear
Nick Saban's reaction to the moves because Steele and Thompson aren't just any assistants. They're also more than two of the best recruiters in the business. They're guys that Saban has hired multiple times because he values what they bring to a staff.
It also says something about how much they've valued working with Saban that Steele and Thompson had returned to work with him, Steele once and Thompson twice.
Remember
what Steele said about this Alabama coaching staff at Sugar Bowl media day two weeks ago in New Orleans?
"There's a bond, a brotherhood if you will," Steele said. "There's always going to be disagreements, but we're all pulling in the same direction. There are no hidden agendas. We've got a close group."
And now two members of that group have departed in a 24-hour period. Is this a coincidence, a course correction endorsed by the head coach or - as a person close to the program suggested - a sign that working for Saban has become more uncomfortable than usual in the wake of the semifinal loss to Ohio State?
It's important to note that one or more Alabama assistants leave every year and the program manages to survive these departures, whatever motivates them. The Crimson Tide won the 2009 and 2011 national titles with Thompson at Tennessee and Steele at Clemson. Thompson came back for the 2012 BCS title repeat, but Steele didn't return until 2013.
So it's not as if Alabama is doomed without them. Saban knows how to hire quality coaches, and one of his strengths is coaching his coaches.
He's also known to point coaches toward the door when they've outlived their perceived usefulness - see
Doug Nussmeier a year ago - but any suggestion that Saban nudged out Steele and Thompson because Alabama surrendered 44 points in the Iron Bowl win over Auburn and 42 points in the semifinal loss to Ohio State seems a bit of a stretch.
Kirby Smart coordinates the defense, Saban oversees it and besides, the biggest problem on that side of the ball has been secondary play.
Who's been working with the defensive backs on a daily basis? Not Steele and Thompson. Smart and Saban."
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