For Alabama to continue its offensive assault this football season, the Crimson Tide must conquer a familiar nemesis.
The Chief.
Texas A&M second-year defensive coordinator John Chavis will be facing Alabama for a 28th consecutive season Saturday afternoon when the No. 6 Aggies face the top-ranked Tide inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Before taking charge of Aggies defenders, Chavis was a defensive assistant at Tennessee (1989-2008) and LSU (2009-2014).
Chavis has been a defensive coordinator in the Southeastern Conference since former Volunteers coach Phillip Fulmer promoted him in 1995.
"You have about as much respect for him as anybody you play against when it comes to how he's going to try and defend you," Alabama coach Nick Saban said this week in a news conference.
As a defensive coordinator, Chavis is 12-10 against the Crimson Tide, a record bolstered by the seven-game winning streak the Vols hung on Alabama from 1995 to 2001. Against Saban-coached Tide teams, his record is 2-8, the two victories coming with LSU in 2010 and 2011.
Alabama and LSU met twice during the 2011 season, with the Tigers winning 9-6 in overtime in Tuscaloosa and the Tide avenging that defeat with a 21-0 rout at the BCS title game in New Orleans.
Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin lured Chavis from Baton Rouge to repair a defense that ranked 102nd nationally in 2014, allowing 450.8 yards per game. The Aggies improved to 51st last season by yielding 380.0 yards a contest, and they were giving up 388.2 yards a game this year until Tennessee rang up 684 two weeks ago during Texas A&M's 45-38 triumph in double overtime on Oct. 8.
Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall comprise one of the nation's top defensive end tandems - only Alabama (27) has more sacks within the SEC than the Aggies (19) - and safety Armani Watts has a knack for big plays, causing a fumble and making the game-sealing interception against the Volunteers.
Sumlin is quick to credit Chavis for his influence across the entire program.
"We've always had confidence offensively, so I think there has been that confidence since we've been here," Sumlin said. "Our defense was something that not only needed a change schematically but needed some confidence and pride, and I think what he's brought is an attitude. He's given our players a standard of what our defense should look like and what the expectations are defensively, and he's held them to that standard.
"That has kind of bled over into what we want to do, because we've changed a little bit philosophically offensively in trying to become a more phyiscal football team. I think it started on defense as far as developing an aggressive style across the board, and it's kind of permeated across our football team."
Texas A&M limited Alabama's offense to 20 points, 396 yards and 17 first downs last year in College Station, but Minkah Fitzpatrick returned two interceptions for touchdowns and Eddie Jackson returned one as the Tide won 41-23.
Chavis built dominant defenses at Tennessee, which won the 1998 national championship and had four All-America linebackers in an eight-year stretch with Leonard Little (1997), Al Wilson (1998), Raynoch Thompson (1999) and Kevin Burnett (2004). At LSU, he had six defensive players go in the first three rounds of the 2013 NFL draft, which is a record for that event.
Much like Saban evolving with dual-threat quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has energized an Alabama offense averaging 504.7 yards per game, Chavis has changed as well due to the offenses he's having to defend.
"I think that they do a really good job with pressure," Saban said. "I think they play quite a bit of man-to-man, and I think they probably practice against it quite a bit, because that's what they see every day. All those things probably contribute to that.
"He has some really good players. He's an outstanding coach, and he's done a good job for a long time wherever he's been."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.