Kevin Steele has been coaching football for nearly a decade longer than Tommy Rees has been alive.
Now Steele is embarking on his second stint as Alabama's defensive coordinator, and the 31-year-old Rees is approaching his first season as the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator. They're at very different stages of their careers, but with the same mission: Help coach Nick Saban and Alabama get back to national championship form.
Both made it clear Sunday they're putting their imprint on Saban's system, not the other way around. Steele, who was defensive coordinator on Saban's first Tide team 17 years ago, wasn't biting on a question about returning the defense to "the Alabama standard.