I could be wrong, but I'm not worried about Golding; I was hoping when they hired him that he'd either be named DC from the get-go or assigned to the secondary. Not sure exactly when he took over play-calling duties but I can't judge him too harshly considering that responsibility was thrust upon him and then all the injuries to key defensive personnel that were prevalent later in the season...

I think last season was the first ever for Golding in coaching ILBs; I think he's always been a either a DB coach and/or the DC everywhere he's been prior to coming here and his secondaries have improved everywhere he's been. Think him coaching LBs is a Saban thing as I think most of Saban's DCs are assigned as a LB coach. Steele, Pruitt and Lupoi were; I think Smart was DC/Secondary for his first couple of years or so but then was moved to DC/LBs afterwards. Guessing since the ILBs have responsibility for calls and such that Saban likes the DC to work more with them...

I've got high hopes for the D this year; think they'll be much better than last year, if they can stay relatively healthy. Think our secondary will be a strength this year. Was encouraged when Golding was speaking on McMillon; talked about how he knew the defense so well and that while he was not as athletic as others, his football IQ would allow him to make plays that the more athletic guys would not. Wondering if that means McMillon might be making more of the defensive calls when he's in; that might allow Moses more freedom to go full beast mode...

This post was edited on 8/5/19 at 11:09 am