Prior to the Crimson Tide’s College Football Playoff semifinal meeting against the Wolverines, Nick Saban added George Helow, the former coach of the Michigan Michigan football team, to Alabama’s staff.
Many are wondering why he was hired at this particular time, considering his past with Alabama’s rival. Nevertheless, before to the CFP game, Saban disclosed the full scope of Helow’s involvement, which may not be as dire as some Michigan supporters have claimed.
“George [Helow] has been here before. He was with us for a long time and he knows our system,” Saban said on Monday. “I think every year that we’ve been in the playoffs, we’ve tried to bring somebody in primarily because we spent two weeks really on the road recruiting. So, it’s somebody to do a little extra work that has a good experience.
“When we get off the road, being able to give us a good scouting report of what we need to know. That’s the purpose just to add a sort of a special assistant to me, or whatever you want to call it, so when I come off the road, [they are] be able to get me up to speed on what’s been happening.”
Helow’s experience with Alabama isn’t as extensive as Saban is making is seem, however, there is some history between the two. According to his staff profile at Michigan, Helow was an intern in the weight room in 2012 during the spring and summer before working as a defensive intern for coordinator Kirby Smart during that fall.
The next year, he moved to Florida State, and he didn’t come back to Tuscaloosa until this year’s bowl preparation. Obviously, Saban doesn’t think less of him for his work as the linebackers coach at Michigan before to this year’s CFP playoff.
But given that background, it does raise the issue of whether Helow would be the best candidate to succeed Alabama’s Coleman Hutzler, the outside linebackers coach and coordinator of special teams, who is taking a position as Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator
“We’re not concerned about any of that stuff right now,” Saban said. “You know, we’ve got a game coming up. Coleman Hutzler is here, he’s finishing the season. I don’t have time right now to go through the due diligence of hiring anybody, or even be concerned about that. We’re focused on what we’ve got to do right now.”
Alabama will play Michigan on New Year’s Day with a shot at the College Football Playoff National Championship game on the line. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET and will be aired on ESPN.
