News broke on Thursday that Nick Saban and Alabama have hired former Michigan linebackers coach George Helow effective immediately. Helow coached at Michigan during the 2021 and 2022 seasons before mutually agreeing to part ways prior to the 2023 season. There is some history between Helow and Alabama as he interned there in 2012.
The ramifications here could be anything from miniscule to massive, and we’ll never fully know the answer. Today let’s focus on this hiring from three different angles: on the field impact, the perception of Alabama based on this hire, and the perception of the Big Ten/NCAA and “competitive advantages”.