Alabama’s revamped secondary still doesn’t get enough credit

“This is Kirby’s defense,” Saban said during his press conference Monday. “He understands it and can apply it as well as anyone. … He understands the back end, which I think is really critical to being a good coordinator.”

Saban and Smart made three critical adjustments to spur a dramatic turnaround in secondary play this season. Those decisions played a key role in the Tide’s march to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game.

They hired Mel Tucker as secondary coach: Saban and Smart get so much credit, rightfully so, for building Alabama’s defense into an unmovable force.

Kirby Smart, by the numbers. https://t.co/T0PsrAZdYu pic.twitter.com/WR6VLnTrQb

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) December 2, 2015

But the secondary issues of 2013 and 2014 clearly needed to be addressed. Saban did so by hiring an old friend: veteran NFL defensive coordinator, Mel Tucker, to coach defensive backs.

Tucker was a graduate assistant on Saban’s Michigan State staffs in the late 90s, then rejoined Saban at LSU as his defensive backs coach in 2000. Those roles eventually led to Tucker’s ascent to the NFL, where he was a defensive coordinator in Jacksonville and Chicago until the Bears fired him last offseason.

Hiring Tucker also freed up Smart to focus more of his attention on Alabama’s front seven, which has been the most dominant group in the country.

They moved Eddie Jackson to safety: Think Alabama secondary, and Mark Barron and Javier Arenas immediately come to mind, two hard-hitting All-Americans who became NFL players.

This secondary punishes opponents in a different way. Alabama decided to match offensive speed with defensive speed and now essentially has ball-hawking cornerbacks at every secondary position.

The results have been obvious: The Tide shares the SEC lead with 15 interceptions, and playmakers like Jackson and Minkah Fitzpatrick have turned four of them into touchdowns.

The transition started with moving Jackson, who leads the SEC with five interceptions but also has given the Tide an athletic playmaker in the run game.

Good play by Eddie Jackson pic.twitter.com/rMsAID3Plo

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) November 28, 2015

They trusted their corners to do their job: With four cover specialists, Smart doesn’t need to dial up calls that protect a weak link.

The hidden benefit: Alabama’s sack total spiked this season to an SEC-best 41 (10 more than last season, nearly double its 2013 output) in part because of the coverage behind it.

The Tide still is using its hybrid man/zone concepts, but corners Fitzpatrick and Cyrus Jones are holding their own on the outside.

It’s an extension of do your job, and it’s another reason Alabama’s has cut the number of 30-yard passing plays from 19 last year to 13 this season.

And of course a couple of those long TD passes were flukes, most notably the tipped-ball-66-yard TD Ole Miss scored but also Auburn’s bobble-haul in 77-yard TD grab from Jason Smith.

Jason Smith channeling is inner Ricardo Louis. #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/86KZP33bmj

— Auburn Tigers (@AuburnTigers) November 28, 2015

Alabama’s front seven has been so dominant, the secondary’s play has gotten a little lost in its shadow. There are only so many headlines, after all, but the back four deserve a few more in helping the Tide’s push for the Final Four.