"We’re not getting a Led Zeppelin reunion tour, so Alabama’s defensive staff for the 2014 season will have to do. That’s right, with word of Kevin Steele moving from an administrative post to an on-the-field position, all signs point to Nick Saban getting the band back together in Tuscaloosa.

In hopes of returning to championship form, Saban is turning to his original defensive staff at UA.
Returning for a second stint on Saban’s staff at UA are Steele, Alabama’s director of player personnel in 2013, and Bo Davis, a pair that, along with outside linebackers coach Lance Thompson and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, will look to spark what Crimson Tide fans hope will be Saban’s second (and perhaps last) championship run at Alabama.

If the quartet of coaches have a familiar ring to them, it's because they are the very same collection of assistants who rang in the Saban era with the Crimson Tide.

In 2007, Steele left Florida State to take on coordinator duties at Alabama. Meanwhile, Smart and Davis, followed Saban from the Miami Dolphins to UA, where Smart initially coached the secondary while Davis tutored the defensive line. Rounding out the staff at the time was Thompson, who left Central Florida to reunite Saban, Thompson's boss at LSU a few years earlier, for what was then his second tour of duty with the Crimson Tide.

What followed was the establishment of a foundation that -- both from a recruiting and player development standpoint – three Alabama national championships in four seasons were largely built upon.

With Steele overseeing his development, Rolando McClain evolved from an inconsistent freshman in 2007 to a Butkus Award winner in 2009. Steele also played an important role in the early stages of Dont’a Hightower’s adaptation to the linebacker position, an orientation that went a ways in helping Hightower reach the NFL in 2011.

Meanwhile, Davis not only recruited Terrence Cody to Alabama, he was largely responsible for turning a raw talent into a more polished product by the end of Cody’s two seasons on campus. All the while, Davis brought along Cody’s successor, Josh Chapman, whose work at nose tackle helped the defense sustain its championship level of play through the 2011 season.

Collectively, Steele, Smart, Davis and Thompson were key players in 2008 and 2009 recruiting classes that set the table for the Crimson Tide’s dynastic run.

Steele served as the primary recruiter for future first-round pick Marcell Dareus and three-time all-american Barrett Jones in 2008, while Thompson, who was recently tabbed by ESPN as college football’s top recruiter since 2006, pulled soon-to-be all-americans Mark Barron and Julio Jonesfrom the Mobile area that same year.

In addition to Cody, Davis landed Mississippians Anthony Steen and Kevin Norwood in 2009, a duo that were central figures in national title runs in 2011 and 2012. Then there’s Smart, the lead guy on in-state five-stars like Dee Milliner, OJ Howard, Reuben Foster, and most recentlyMarlon Humphrey, since 2010.

Between them, Thompson, Steele and Smart have each been named national recruiters of the year by various outlets since 2005.

The one defensive staff constant since 2007 has been Smart, whose roles on the staff go beyond coordinator, position coach and recruiter. Saban has bestowed the unofficial title of second-in-command on Smart. As such, he’s expected to administer the program on the very rare occasion Saban isn’t available.

As for Steele, Thompson and Davis, opportunities elsewhere took them to Tennessee, Clemson and Texas, respectively. Apparently, the color orange didn’t suit them well as they’ve returned to the crimson they donned together in the early years of the Saban era. With that, the long-propagated belief that Saban is a guy assistant coaches can tolerate just once took another hit.

A lot can be learned from going elsewhere, both about oneself and the organizations one has been a part of. The same can be said for the person in charge. A few years’ worth of perspective can be good that way.

Perhaps “starting over”, as Saban called it following a disappointing finish to the 2013 season, will prove to be just what the program needed. Maybe these guys are better together than they are apart.

This much we know: there won’t be any surprises when it comes to what is expected on a daily basis. After all, these guys know what’s required to produce No. 1 hits. Saban, never one to shy from pumping new blood into the staff meeting room, wouldn’t have gotten the band back together if they didn’t."

This post was edited on 2/4/14 at 8:51 am