Brian Daboll spent 17 years in the NFL before returning to the college game this season, so the Alabama offensive coordinator underwent a significant transition of the players he was coaching.
Well, kind of.
Ben Jones of the Tuscaloosa News passed along Daboll’s humorous response to a question about what it’s like working with teenagers instead of grown men.
“That’s a great question. You know, I had Gronk.”
Alabama has showcased “out-of-the-lab” players, such as Derrick Henry and Bo Scarbrough, a couple of running backs who stand at least 6-foot-2 and weigh 235 pounds. Plus, former defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson looked like a grown man in college.
But Daboll probably isn’t talking about physical stature.
No, the Patriots tight end coach from 2014-16 worked with a, shall we say, character in Gronkowski. The 6-foot-6, 265-pound menace dominates on the field, but he’s both wildly entertaining and sometimes not exactly the most mature person in the world.
We’re not saying the Alabama roster is full of misbehavior. Still, Gronk being Gronk indirectly helped Daboll bridge the gap between coaching grown men in the NFL and a bunch of teenagers at Alabama.