There are a number of on-the-field issues the Alabama football team needs to get resolved.
CBS Sports analyst and former Alabama running back Damien Harris points to one moment prior to the 24-17 loss to Tennessee which symbolizes it all. It was Josh Chapman, the team’s director of player development and former player, walking into Neyland Stadium with a cigar in his mouth.
“That just really threw me for a loop,” Harris said on the “Until Saturday” podcast. “You know why? Because I know who it was, and those were people who were there when Saban was there, who played for Saban, who coached with Saban. I’m just sitting here, like, really? Like, really?
“We’re just totally throwing everything that made Alabama what it was out of the window. We got coaches walking into the game, smoking cigars prematurely. Now, I’m sure that’s going to be a meme for God knows how long. … What does Nick Saban talk about? About the rat poison and feeding into the media and the narratives? He used to tell us all the time, you guys act like the team you’re playing is the greatest team in the world. You respect them, you show up and you play the game the right way.
“Well, smoking cigars in the stadium on — just walking in off the bus? That’s not that. To me, that just shows the entire mentality. That’s symbolic of the mentality of this Alabama football team right now. And the results are what they are because of things like that.”
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.
