For years, I praised Nick Saban for his forward thinking. He could see the game of football changing and adapted to those changes.
Saban knew he needed help when he hired Lane Kiffin in 2014. College offenses were spreading out and speeding up and Saban brought Kiffin in to move the Tide in that direction.
Now, after a loss in the national championship game, Saban seems to be reverting back to his pre-Kiffin, pro-style roots.
A popular sentiment among Alabama fans is that Kiffin’s offenses didn’t run the ball enough. Many of Saban’s sideline rants directed toward Kiffin seemed to center on this belief as well.