Alabama’s Nick Saban has never guided his Crimson Tide to Arkansas to coach against Frank Broyles or Lou Holtz.
It’s just starting to feel that way.
When Saban takes his top-ranked Tide into Reynolds Razorback Stadium for a high-noon Saturday showdown, he will be standing across the field from Chad Morris, the fifth Arkansas counterpart he has faced. Houston Nutt, Bobby Petrino, John L. Smith and Bret Bielema were the other four Razorbacks coaches Saban has faced, but Saban went 11-0 against that quartet by an average score of 38-14.
Alabama is a 35-point favorite Saturday.
“I’m in no position to judge Arkansas’ situation and how many coaches they’ve had and how that’s affected their program,” Saban said in a news conference this week. “I know they have a good coach right now, and I know this team is improving and progressing. I feel the state of their program is on the upswing, and it’s my job to make sure our team is ready for that.”
Saban soon will face another program with a fifth head coach since his 2007 arrival in Tuscaloosa when the Crimson Tide visit Tennessee on Oct. 20. Jeremy Pruitt, who served the past two seasons as Saban’s defensive coordinator, will get his first crack at his former boss after 11 failed attempts by the combination of Butch Jones, Derek Dooley, Lane Kiffin and Phillip Fulmer.
Fulmer went 10-2 against Alabama from 1995 to 2006 but lost his two meetings against Saban, 41-17 in 2007 and 29-9 in 2008.
Alabama’s 11 straight wins over the Volunteers have had an average score of 36-11, and the Crimson Tide are showing no signs of letting up against Tennessee or anybody else largely due to Saban’s stability.
“Coach Saban has a plan for everything, whether it’s offseason, spring ball, recruiting, nutritional, fourth-quarter program, open weeks or hiring coaches, and he sticks to that plan,” Pruitt said. “He’s a very good teacher, not only for the players but for the coaches. He’s resilient. He never stops. He has as good a work ethic of anybody I’ve ever been around.
“He does a fantastic job in all areas of being a leader in an organization.”
Saban is the entrenched dean of Southeastern Conference coaches at his current school, essentially doubling the second-longest stints of Auburn’s Gus Malzahn and Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, who are in their sixth seasons.
Yet Saban will have to take a back seat in longevity in one aspect of Saturday’s matchup, because first-year Arkansas defensive coordinator John Chavis will be coaching against Alabama for a 30th consecutive year. Chavis was at Tennessee from 1989 to 2008, going 10-9-1 in the rivalry, or 11-9 including Alabama’s forfeit of the 17-17 tie in 1993.
Chavis has since coached at LSU (2009-14), Texas A&M (2015-17) and now in Fayetteville, with his last triumph over the Tide occurring with LSU’s 9-6 overtime win in 2011.
“This is his 30th straight year of playing Alabama, which I think is remarkable in itself,” Morris said. “His experience in general, regardless of who the opponent is – he has provided a lot of experience and wisdom and knowledge for our players and staff. It’s just another opportunity and game for him, but his impact on our program is very strongly felt right now.”
Said Saban: “John has been in the league for a long, long time, and everywhere he’s been he creates a lot of issues for you in preparation, and his players play hard. I think he’s doing an outstanding job, because they’ve played better and better. They look like a completely different team on defense now compared to earlier in the season.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.