Dear Tommy Tuberville,
You hire and fire assistant coaches with rapid regularity. I thought you might benefit from a primer on hiring the important position of offensive coordinator. I took notes from Nick Saban’s press conference where he spoke about how he hired Alabama’s successful coordinator Jim McElwain. I hope these notes help!

Jim McElwain fits at Alabama.

“We thought he was going to be a good fit before he ever got here because of his personality and his characteristics and philosophically he is not different than the people that are here, which philosophically they believe like I believe” Saban said.

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So many keys in that statement. Tommy, think back to your hiring of Tony Franklin. Did you know what his system really was? Did you know he didn’t own a comb? A razor? Those are the types of things you deduce if you conduct something Saban likes to call due diligence.

“The most important thing about this hire is that he is a good fit,” Saban said. And you do that how?

“You figure that out when you are talking to him,” Saban said. Maybe that was the problem—Tuberville should’ve spent more time talking with Franklin.

Saban’s two-step guide for the hiring process:
1. Talk to the candidate.
2. Talk to other people about him. (Other coaches would be a great place to start!)

I hope you find a great offensive coordinator as you conduct your next search. I know if you follow Saban’s process you’ll find an employee as good as this: “He’s a good worker,” Saban said of McElwain. “He’s done a good job and it means a lot to him. He’s been a very positive addition to our staff.”

Good luck Tommy!

Your friend,
Alan

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9 thoughts on “Tommy, help is here for hiring assistants!”

  1. Yes… well Alan…(If that is your REAL name.
    Everyone knows that Tommy tuberville commited a huge faux-pas in the Franklin hiring. But honestly, do you know any other OC who would work for $8.73 an hour And wash your car on his day off?
    I THINK NOT!

    I am auburn man. At least Franklin still details my car.

  2. Hey Cappy, did Saban ask himself all those questions before he hired Major Applewhite last year?? I guess we’re supposed to just forget about that. Did he ask himself those questions when he hired all those assistants at LSU that left him in droves?? Oh, I guess we aren’t supposed to talk about that either. Yeah, Tubs was a genius in 04 and 05 with the Borges hire, too. No one was complaining about all the coordinator turnover then, and there had still been plenty of it. Tubs didn’t become an idiot until the Borges offense started to suck, and this year when Franklin’s system didn’t work.

    McElwain is doing a great job this year with a 5th year senior qb and some really good running backs (where have I seen that situation before??). Let’s see how he does next year with a new qb. The good thing for Bama is that Grant, Coffee, and Ingram should all be back.

  3. Julio, Bama’s passing offense is ranked about one hundred, I’m sure it will improve next year whoever is the qb and with those stud’s at running back and the best running back in the country coming to Ala in Trent Richardson and the fact they are winning big with a much younger team than ours, I see them owning us for the near future, sorry it is just a fact and most of Saban assistants got more money elsewhere instead of getting fired and staying on the Aub payroll that is just stupid

  4. Why heeeell no that aint me. Yall should know better than that. That is the closet homo Tmc1/Auburnman/Ballplay wannabe.

  5. Ballplay,
    That wasnt me. Why the fuck do you keep trying to add me to your little dramas?
    Dont you enjoy this blog more when you dont have me talking down to you like a peice of non-cerebral Aubbo trailer trash? I have kept my part of the truce. So dont get me started again.

  6. Probably the best choice for AU at OC right now.
    He doesnt suck but he does inhale ….Especially doughnuts.

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