It’s difficult to know what’s on the mind of Alabama assistant coaches because they spend their days sheltered behind a wall of silence. The first rule of coaching for Nick Saban is keeping your mouth shut.

There is no media availability for Saban’s minions. You’ll see them at work on the sidelines on Saturdays, but you won’t hear what they’re thinking about the games or their team, of even their own futures. They’re off limits and the only voice you’ll ever here from the Alabama coaches offices is Saban’s.

They’re not talking, but they’re sure working. As Alabama head to the SEC title game and then into the College Football Playoff, this coaching staff is a big reason why. It’s not all Saban getting these guys ready.

And it is possible, in fact, to argue that this is the best coaching staff to work under Nick Saban in his entire career.

OK, so it’s a bold statement. We can’t break down every college staff through his time at Michigan State, LSU and now Alabama.  And it’s hard to measure the talent of the 2003 LSU staff — Jimbo Fisher, Derek Dooley, Will Muschamp, Lance Thompson, et al — against, say, his 1998 staff at Michigan State.

Still, a quick glance down the roster in Tuscaloosa and things look pretty impressive. For instance:

Kirby Smart

There’s nothing left to say about him that hasn’t already been said. Smart is a 2009 Broyles Award winner as the nation’s top assistant, and his name has been on the short list for the award basically every season. He and his boss are the architects of a defense that has finished at or near the top of college football in total defense every season save one (2014) since he has held the position. And he does it without a great deal of fanfare, aside from that weird thing where Scott Cochran walks behind him on the sidelines and pulls him off the field by his belt loops.

(Say, speaking of Cochran …)

Scott Cochran

If you don’t live in Alabama and don’t regularly attend home games in Tuscaloosa, it’s difficult to explain exactly how big Cochran has been since he’s come here. The PA literally plays his grating yell during games to fire up the home crowd. He did a series of commercials several years ago in which he yelled at Alabamians to get their flu shots. He wound up on “60 Minutes,” for God’s sake.

He holds some awards, too — Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year in 2008 and 2011 — and right now could probably run for governor and win.

Lane Kiffin

The 2015 season is probably as big a testament as any to Kiffn’s ability as a play-caller. He has a  quarterback who is somewhat  limited in his abilities. Kiffin and Alabama’s offensive staff have found ways to move the ball and score points, even if it isn’t always pretty. This season he’s even felt his oats a little when it comes to relating to Saban, as witnessed by his now famous shove that prevented his boss from calling a timeout.

And give him credit — last week, with Will Muschamp’s defense laying back and daring the Tide to beat them without big plays, Kiffin rolled back his natural instincts, gave Derrick Henry 46 carries and took his five field goals. That required setting aside a large part of his ego, which isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Mario Cristobal

Evaluating an offensive line coach is probably the most difficult challenge for a football fan, but Cristobal has done yeoman’s work since he’s come to Tuscaloosa, particularly when it comes to maintaining the standards Alabama has for its offensive line. Cristobal is also highly regarded as a recruiter, particularly in South Florida.

Burton Burns

Never heard of this dude, right? He’s assistant head coach, for the record, and Alabama’s running backs coach. No, really. He’s also been named one of the country’s top recruiters by a variety of sources.

Bo Davis

None of  the work done by Saban and Smart with the defensive backfield matters unless it can control the gaps at the line of scrimmage. And get this: Davis came to Bama in 2007, immediately made the team one of the best against the run, went to Texas for three years and revamped that run defense, then came back to Tuscaloosa and immediately went back to work here. He’s another underrated part of the staff.

The hard part about a staff so talented is they will undoubtedly leave for more prominent jobs in the near future. It’s already about to happen with Smart, reportedly happening with Cochran and bound to happen with Kiffin and Cristobal sooner rather than later. Which means a new crop of assistants will come along eventually.

But the guy in charge has a pretty good track record, for what it’s worth. He’ll be alright.