Kevin Steele reveals what Nick Saban wants on Alabama's defense, how to incorporate new ideas

Alabama defensive coordinator Kevin Steele has a good grasp on what coach Nick Saban expects from that unit. Steele previously served as the defensive coordinator on Saban’s first two Crimson Tide teams in 2007 and 2008 before later returning as director of player personnel in 2013 and linebackers coach in 2014.

Now set to return for his third stint with at Alabama under Saban, Steele is extremely familiar with the coach’s standard. Speaking in front of media on Sunday, he opened up on what that working relationship is like.

“Coach always has directives for whatever’s going on in this building at any point in time,” Steele said. “‘This is what I want and this is how I want it.’ Was it different than what it was before I got here? I don’t know. I wasn’t here, (but) it wasn’t any different than it was the other two times I was here.”

Steele takes over for Pete Golding, who left this offseason to take over as the defensive coordinator at Ole Miss. He inherits a defense that finished ninth the the country in points allowed per game (18.2) but ranked just 107th in turnovers forced per game (1.1).

Steele emphasized that the system will remain the same this season, as it has ever since his first year with the team. He added that he is still familiar with all of its intricacies as he continued to use it in his stops at Clemson, LSU, Auburn and, most recently, Miami.

However, as always, he’ll take things on a case-by-case basis and incorporate small changes based on matchups and personnel.

“Incorporating things that worked for me into this system is really kind of, if you knew what I’m saying here, the system that I was running is this system,” Steele said. “Now, incorporating maybe a little bit of nuances, that happens with all of us. We spend all offseason studying different teams, studying different defenses. The whole staff will bring ideas to the room. We’re always evolving in that regard.

“As far as for me coming back in here, 80% of what is done here, that’s what I was doing at other places. Even the words were the same, so I didn’t have to bring a new dictionary in. There are some nuances that have changed since I left, but they primarily still stay conceptually within the base of what we were doing.”

After missing the College Football Playoff for just the second time this past season, Alabama will hope Steele can hone in on the same principles that have made it one of the top defenses over the past decade. The Crimson Tide kick off the season on Sept. 2 against Middle Tennessee.