Alabama football coach Nick Saban, left, greets then-LSU coach Les Miles before their SEC West matchup in November 2014 in Baton Rouge, La. Miles was fired Sunday, and Saban talked Monday about the respect he has for him.What was expected to be an 11th meeting between Alabama football coach Nick Saban and LSU counterpart Les Miles instead will be a pairing of Saban and Tigers interim coach Ed Orgeron.
The Alabama-LSU game on Nov. 5 underwent a significant change late last month, when Miles was fired following an 18-13 loss at Auburn that dropped the Tigers to 2-2. They have gone 3-0 under Orgeron, whipping Missouri (42-7), Southern Miss (45-10) and Ole Miss (38-21).
Alabama practiced Tuesday for the first time since Saturday's 33-14 win over Texas A&M, and Saban shared some of the plan for LSU following Tuesday's practice.
"We're going to look at what they did prior to and after the coaching change," Saban said. "They are doing some things differently, but it's not really stuff that we've never seen before."
Saban and Orgeron met as head coaches in 2007, when Saban was in his first season in Tuscaloosa and Orgeron was in his third and final season at Ole Miss. Alabama prevailed 27-24 in Oxford.
The Crimson Tide are shifting defensively from Texas A&M's spread offense to LSU's traditional downhill attack, which has Saban concerned up front.
"We probably don't have as many big guys as we've had in the past," he said. "We were built in the past for teams like LSU."
Alabama practiced for two hours Tuesday and will work out again today and Thursday before taking the weekend off. Saban was pleased with Tuesday's practice, adding, "You can't fall in love with what you've done. You've got to focus on the future."
Secondary tweaks
Sophomore cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick was spotted at safety during Tuesday's practice, which was the Crimson Tide's first workout since senior safety Eddie Jackson was lost for the season with a fractured leg against the Aggies.
"We're trying to get the best combination of players on the field that we can," Saban said, "so we'll do a little experimenting this week. After this week, we'll decide the best way for us to go."
Saban said Jackson underwent successful surgery Tuesday and his injury "will not affect his future in any way, shape or form."