Alabama Football: What does Charlie Strong add to Crimson Tide?

Alabama football has added another former head coach to their staff in Charlie Strong. What will he bring to Tuscaloosa this season?

We should be used to it by now, but Alabama football has added another former head coach to their typical star-studded staff. They have added big names like Lane Kiffin, Butch Jones, and Steve Sarkisian in the past. The new name in Saban’s network is Charlie Strong, mostly known for his brief tenure as the head coach of Texas.

He didn’t bring Texas back, but Strong will surely be a big piece of Saban’s staff for at least a couple of seasons. What can we expect from Saban’s new defensive analyst?

When Saban hires an analyst, he is looking for a new perspective. For example, Kiffin brought the spread offense. Although Strong won’t be in charge of the defense, he will give his ideas on how to improve. This will be important for the Tide with so many starters heading to the NFL next year. I don’t expect for there to be a change in scheme, though.

Strong isn’t the best recruiter, but he at least has some ties to the both the states of Texas and Florida. Texas is a monster place for high school talent. In recent memory, Alabama landed Jalen Hurts from that state. Florida is great as well, although most of Alabama’s Florida recruits are on the offensive side of the ball. If this signing can land at least a couple of big names from Texas and/or Florida, it will be worth it.

I think what Strong will mostly help with is the development of Pete Golding, Alabama’s young defensive coordinator. Golding was dealt a bad hand this year with injuries, but the defense simply has to look better for this team to win a national championship.

With the offense certainly taking at least a slight step back on talent, the defense needs to keep games from having to be shootouts. Alabama football fans will surely be rooting for Strong and Golding to coach together to make this defense stronger.

At the end of the day, is going to help the Tide. The pressure of a head coaching position will be lifted off of his shoulders, and Saban won’t let him fail. He’s going to get to stick to his strengths.