Readers offer their dream tandems for Alabama football coordinators | Goodbread

Pick your pair, and think big. That was the assignment for the mailbag constituency.

It's all good fun for Alabama fans who don't have to feel the pressure of winning at Bryant-Denny Stadium on fall Saturdays. Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban carries that burden, and is paid handsomely for it, but he's the one who's got to pick the right pair. A pair of coordinators, that is, following the exits of Bill O'Brien to the New England Patriots, and Pete Golding to Ole Miss. Speculation abounds as Saban continues the process of landing two new chief assistants. Who should he take? We asked the Sounding Board for their dream tandem. To the mailbag we go!

Going chalk on this one. Glenn Schumann for DC. I like the idea of poaching from Georgia (get used to it, Kirby!). For OC, Jeff Lebby seems like the obvious choice, but if I were Saban, I'd send Greg Byrne (with a round-trip ticket) to Thailand to find Kliff Kingsbury and hand him a one-way ticket to Tuscaloosa. There are direct flights from Bangkok, right? - Monte from Brooklyn

Monte: Schumann is a chalk pick, indeed, and a good one. The job he and Will Muschamp did coordinating Georgia's defense was phenomenal given the talent they lost to the 2022 NFL Draft. Kingsbury's anything but chalk, but hey, I'm the one who said to think big. But can the UA plane make it to Thailand?

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Offensive coordinator: whomever actually got Bryce Young to actually commit.  Defensive coordinator: Gene Chizik, because it would be fun to beat Auburn with a former national championship coach. Plan B for either: the drunk guy in section NN-9 who clearly knew more than Golding, O'Brien and Saban combined. - Ben from Huntsville

Ben: I think the drunk guy in NN-9 has tweeted at me a few times.

My ideal pairing would be Steve Sarkisian and Kirby Smart. Now, for things that could actually happen, I'll take Glenn Schumann at DC as he's experienced in running things how Saban wants and is great at recruiting. For OC give me Freddie Kitchens. I don't think Mullen or Kingsbury would do well under Saban, and while I think Joe Brady would do well I would like someone to be here for more than a year, plus I don't want both our coordinators to be in their early 30s. - Alex from Florence

Alex: Agree that Mullen wouldn't be a fit at all. Kitchens returning to coach at Alabama at some point, in some role, is not far-fetched, although the buzz on him for the OC job is low to inaudible.

The correct hires are Joe Brady as OC and Glenn Schumann as DC. Joe’s previous experience/success within the SEC and spread system make the hire a no brainer. Glenn is obviously a Bama alum and already familiar with the Saban defensive system. A bonus out of the blue DC hire would be Ryan Walters from Illinois. He has gotten a lot out of a little at both Mizzou and Illinois. - Rusty from Huntsville

Rusty: Walters got the head job at Purdue, so that's obviously out. But just for kicks, I dug around for any connection I could find between Walters and Alabama or Saban. There was a 2018 Alabama win over Missouri, 39-10, in which his defense gave up 544 yards. He was initially hired at Mizzou by Gary Pinkel, however, who is a close friend and former college teammate of Saban's at Kent State.

Reach Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Readers offer their dream tandems for Alabama coordinators