Alabama football notebook

By Ken Rogers

Published: December 2, 2008

TUSCALOOSA — There are certainly contrasting styles between Urban Meyer and Nick Saban, but the two head coaches in the SEC Championship Game share a close friend in their profession.

Alabama’s Nick Saban was Bill Belichick’s defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns in 1991-94. The two remained good friends even when they coached in the same division when Saban led the Miami Dolphins against Belichick’s New England Patriots in 2005-06.

Florida’s Urban Meyer and his staff spent time shadowing Belichick and his staff in New England. Belichick has spoken to Florida and Alabama at the request of both coaches.

“We met about four years ago when I was hired at Florida. I know him very well now,” Meyer said. “We visit every year, he makes a trip down here, I make a trip up there. We talk during the season, not very much.”

Meyer said he’s learned “numerous things” from Belichick.

“The thing that reminds me the most about Coach Belichick is I think they’re the most professional organization in all sports,” the Florida coach said. “You don’t hear about a lot of the selfish issues that are going on, and the chemistry of his team, and what he demands, the way they draft players, the way they keep players. It’s the ultimate team concept.”

Meyer said he saw that first-hand.

“When I went up there to see (all-pro linebacker) Mike Vrabel running down as a scout kickoff performer, that’s what this is all about,” Meyer said. “It’s not about how many catches you have, or your contract, it’s about what you’re doing to help your team win, and that comes from the head coach. So that’s the number one thing I’ve learned from him.”

Saban’s fanatical attention to detail comes, in part, from Belichick’s organizational system.

“He’s got a plan for just about everything,” Saban said. “It’s a systematic approach to how you do things. How you evaluate the players. How you define roles of players on the team. The criteria of what you’re looking for at a position. And a systematic approach of how you teach the players, what you want to do and what’s necessary to get the kind of execution you need to be successful.

“And I think Bill has a great ability to cut through the clutter and get right to what’s important. We try to do that so that people are focused on the right things. I think this team has done a pretty good job of that. I certainly learned that from Bill.”

Saban smiled when asked who Belichick would root for Saturday, him or Meyer.

“I really don’t know his relationship with Bill. I know they’re good friends. I’ve never discussed it with Bill so I really can’t comment on that,” the coach said. “But Bill’s been a really good friend to me. Been very helpful, even when we were competitors in the same division, 365 days a year. We never let it affected the personal part of our relationship.”

Caldwell honored: Senior center Antoine Caldwell was named the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week for his performance against Auburn.

Caldwell and the offensive line helped the Crimson Tide rush for 234 yards in the 36-0 victory.

He was one of three offensive players honored by Alabama coaches from the Auburn game, joining right guard Marlon Davis and running back Glen Coffee, who had 144 yards on 20 carries against the Tigers.

Defensively, Alabama coaches named linebacker Brandon Fanney and safety Rashad Johnson as the top players against Auburn.

Freshmen Courtney Upshaw from Eufaula and Mark Barron from Mobile were named the special teams players of the week by the UA staff.

Alabama has had at least one SEC Player of the Week winner after all 12 regular season games this season.
Injury update: Saban said the Crimson Tide is healthy, although Roy Upchurch’s neck injury has lingered. He said Upchurch is probably the most questionable player this Saturday.

“We’ll just go day-to-day with him and see how he kind of improves, responds, whatever,” Saban said. “This may be something that needs to be examined more closer. We’re going to take the steps and the measures to make sure that he’s OK. ... He tried to play two plays and he didn’t feel like he was really himself.”

Ticket alert: The Southeastern Conference urged fans to be wary when buying tickets second-hand for Saturday’s game in Atlanta between Alabama and Florida.

Tickets for the SEC Championship Game are sold out. Guarding against stolen or counterfeit tickets, the SEC and the Georgia Dome will be offering a “Ticket Validation Window” at the dome beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday.

The authenticity of the ticket can be confirmed by a box office representative on site. Buyers of counterfeit tickets risk being denied admission to the Georgia Dome for the game, which kicks off at 3 p.m.