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It’s easy to assume Pete Golding is feeling a little heat after Nick Saban made the decision to bring in Charlie Strong to help coach up the Crimson Tide defense this season.
Bringing in Strong was an accomplishment in of itself for Alabama considering Dan Mullen nearly managed to get the former head coach to join his Florida staff this offseason, but in the end, the lure of coaching in Tuscaloosa for Saban proved to be too strong for the former Louisville, Texas and USF coach.
Alabama’s defense has taken a small step back since Golding took over the unit and that’s been part of the reason why the Crimson Tide have failed to win national championships in recent seasons. That standard of excellence may be too lofty for some programs but that’s the goal every season in Tuscaloosa under Saban’s leadership.
So how is Golding taking the addition of Strong to the Tide staff? The way Alabama’s defensive coordinator tells it, the two are very close.
“I love, I mean I love Charlie. It’s so nice to have him here, man, holy cow – the experience he’s had, whether it’s been a head coach or defensive coordinator,” Golding said during his Thursday press conference. “Obviously, you still have Coach (Mike) Stoops as well, I love picking those guys’ brains, you know? And have them evaluate me, whether it’s from a scripted standpoint, a meeting standpoint, coaching. How would you have said this differently? How would you have done it differently?
“That’s what I’m so excited about. I’m in an unbelievable atmosphere, and I work for the best head coach in college football, got a lot of guys around me that have unbelievable experience, and they’re really good dudes and they are all in it for the right reasons. They are here to help us and help us improve and get this defense back to where it should be — and I promise you, I have open ears.”
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
