This isn’t exactly what I would have expected to hear from Todd Grantham, I admit.
“How do they go fast?” Pruitt asked of up-tempo offenses. “That’s the first thing you’ve got to look at. How do these offenses go fast? Obviously it’s got to be the verbiage. Their calls have got to be very simple — not simple in scheme, but simple in getting the call.
“I think from that perspective, you’ve got to go that way on defense. You’ve got to make your calls where they’re one-word calls. To me, that’s the first thing you’ve got to do as a defense.”
Are we about to witness the demise of the sideline towel? It sounds like we’re headed towards something different, anyway.
“As far as the speed of the game and all that, in my opinion, I just think you’ve got to change the way you coach a little bit,” Pruitt said. “If [offensive coaches] can coach and get the plays in and get them called, I think as a defensive coach, you’ve got to adapt and be able to do that yourself.
“And coach Saban would probably kill me for saying that, but that’s just my opinion.”
I’m not sure I’d call eliminating confused defensive players “adapting”. More like “being coached properly”.