Alabama will hire Brian Daboll as its offensive coordinator, ESPN's Chris Low reported Friday night.
Daboll spent the past three seasons as the tight ends coach for the New England Patriots. Another candidate linked to the position also hailed from the NFL and, more specifically, the Bill Belichick coaching tree in former Houston Texans offensive coordinator George Godsey. (Mike Locksley was also a candidate for the Tide's offensive coordinator spot.)
Both interview candidates indicate Nick Saban would like to return to a more pro-style attack despite the success of the spread, up-tempo direction Lane Kiffin pushed the Tide he past three seasons and the skill sets of the quarterbacks on campus -- sophomore Jalen Hurts and freshman signee Tua Tagovailoa, rated the No. 1 dual-threat prospect in the 2017 class.
However, a return to his roots would not be surprising for Saban considering his reported clashes -- and televised "ass-chewings" -- of Kiffin and the short tenure of Steve Sarkisian.
Daboll was a two-year graduate assistant for Saban at Michigan State before joining the NFL ranks as a defensive assistant with the Patriots in 2000. He moved to wide receivers coach in 2002, coached quarterbacks for the New York Jets and served as offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs before returning to New England in 2013.
Here's a little flavor of Alabama's reported next offensive coordinator from his time in Kansas City:
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.