Saban was asked about the development of rising sophomore QB Jalen Hurts, and he gave a carefully worded response. The meaning of which is in the eyes of the beholder.
“I think we protected him a little bit last year and it didn’t enhance his development,” Saban told The Opening Drive. “And sometimes later in the year when people played us in a way that we needed to be able to throw the ball, we may not have been as efficient as we would have liked to have been. That was probably our fault as coaches because we protected him instead of developing him as a young player. The goal this spring, and certainly before next season, is that we can create more balance by being a better passing team to go along with what we’re able to do with our feet as a quarterback. As well as how that creates balance for our overall offense and utilizes some of the other skill players that we have which we didn’t always take advantage of last year.”
So, just to recap, Saban took an upbeat question about the performance of his starting quarterback and turned it into a critique of the play calling, offensive talent utilization and quarterback development from his coaching staff last season.
Given that Lane Kiffin was largely in charge of all of those things, it’s not a huge leap to think this may have been Saban’s way of covertly responding to Kiffin’s remarks. Even if it’s not, it’s an indictment of the relationship that seemingly deteriorated at the end of their three-year run together, no matter what they may say publicly.
https://www.seccountry.com/alabama/nick-saban-returns-lane-kiffin-jab-jalen-hurts
“I think we protected him a little bit last year and it didn’t enhance his development,” Saban told The Opening Drive. “And sometimes later in the year when people played us in a way that we needed to be able to throw the ball, we may not have been as efficient as we would have liked to have been. That was probably our fault as coaches because we protected him instead of developing him as a young player. The goal this spring, and certainly before next season, is that we can create more balance by being a better passing team to go along with what we’re able to do with our feet as a quarterback. As well as how that creates balance for our overall offense and utilizes some of the other skill players that we have which we didn’t always take advantage of last year.”
So, just to recap, Saban took an upbeat question about the performance of his starting quarterback and turned it into a critique of the play calling, offensive talent utilization and quarterback development from his coaching staff last season.
Given that Lane Kiffin was largely in charge of all of those things, it’s not a huge leap to think this may have been Saban’s way of covertly responding to Kiffin’s remarks. Even if it’s not, it’s an indictment of the relationship that seemingly deteriorated at the end of their three-year run together, no matter what they may say publicly.
https://www.seccountry.com/alabama/nick-saban-returns-lane-kiffin-jab-jalen-hurts
