Nick Saban is fresh off his first full year as the head coach at Alabama and is hot on the recruiting trail, trying to bring in the number one class in the nation. At least two new coaches will be on staff in 2008. Offensive Coordinator, Major Applewhite, has been a hot name in recent coaching circles and has decided to return home to take a position with his alma mater. Coach Saban addressed the media with this statement on the departure of Applewhite: "Although we are sorry to see Major go, we wish him the best at Texas. He's a fine young coach and he did a great job for us. "It's always special to go back to your alma mater, especially a place with as much tradition and history as Texas. Major was a big part of that during his playing days there and will again be a part of it moving forward as a coach. "We appreciate all of his hard work and dedication during his time at Alabama. "We will use this as an opportunity to find the best available candidate and improve our staff in the process."

Special Teams Coach Ron Middelton decided to follow Coach David Cutcliff to Duke. He will be replaced with former Michigan State coach Bobby Williams. Click here to listen to Middelton discuss his time at Alabama. (Look under D&B Audio) Williams was an assistant to Saban at Michigan State, LSU, and the Miami Dolphins. Names being mentioned for Applewhite's replacement are Chris Hatcher of Georgia Southern, Bryan Harsin of Boise, Jeff Brohm of Louisville, Steve Sarkisian of Southern Cal, and Tom Clements of the Green Bay Packers, and former Michigan QB coach, Scot Loeffler .

While Coach Saban's fingerprints are on every aspect of the game, it's critical that he has the right coaches at his side working with him. Let's take a look at the statistical analysis of the 2006-2007 seasons and see how the two stack up, keeping in mind that the team was learning a new system on both sides of the ball. In 2006 Alabama finished 65th in the nation in total offense, and in 2007 they finished 75th. In total defense Bama ranked 22nd in 2006 and 31st in 2007. One area of vast improvement was penalties moving up from 34th in 2006 to 4th in 2007. The stats listed in yellow indicate the better rating or percentage. Discuss this article in our forums.