Things are different for Malachi Moore this spring. The fifth-year defensive back is one of the remaining vestiges of last year’s Alabama defense and he enters as an elder statesman in the defensive back room. Well, technically, two rooms. The secondary is split this year amid the nearly complete staffing overhaul.

Under first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer, the Tide hired two coaches with the same title. Maurice Linguist and Colin Hitschler will both be co-defensive coordinators and secondary coaches. Alabama had two people in similar roles last year but with Saban’s reverence for the position — players jokingly referred to the DBs as his “babies” — meetings usually occurred with everyone together to digest a complex game plan. The subtle change in teaching and alignment is another signifier of a new era in Tuscaloosa.

So how does the arrangement work?

Let Hitschler explain: “(Linguist) is a smart guy. … I think we have a really great working relationship right away. We understand each other. We have similar backgrounds and perspectives on defenses.

“I don’t know that it’s going to be black and white. There’s a lot of gray area in how it’s handled. But I think we have different focuses and mentor differently.”

Now to Linguist, the former head coach at Buffalo: “Everything is about, ‘What do we need to do to put our players in the best position to be successful?’ I’ve coached in the NFL, I’ve been a head coach, I’ve coached in the SEC two other times, there’s zero ego. The best thing where you can work at an organization and a place with a head coach like Kalen DeBoer who gives clear job responsibilities and clear expectations and for us we’re trying to get these guys in the best position.”

Eleven of the 14 schools in the Southeastern Conference employ two defensive back coaches, usually split by safeties and cornerbacks. (One of the programs that doesn’t, Florida, has two defensive line teachers.) Alabama is unique in that with the elevated co-defensive coordinator titles, Hitschler and Linguist fall just under Kane Wommack in the hierarchy. With Hitschler’s experience, it’s likely he’s mainly working with the safeties and Linguist with the cornerbacks.

In the portion of Alabama practice reporters viewed, Linguist worked with cornerbacks, a group mostly comprised of transfers and highly-rated freshmen, jabbing at a sled as if they were disrupting a wide receiver off the line of scrimmage. Moore said coaches are stressing technique in “Indy” or individual position group drills more than past staffers.

Once Alabama went onto 11-on-11 periods with the first-team offense and defense competing, at least seven new starters took the field, four of whom were either cornerbacks or safeties. The Tide is relying on its freshman this fall to pair with Moore and transfers Domani Jackson and Keon Sabb. Hitschler said each of Peyton Woodyard, Jaylen Mbakwe, Zavier Mincey, Zabien Brown and Red Morgan already “earned” reps with the starters.

DeBoer said Monday how important it was for his assistants to deliver feedback this spring as the team tries to establish an identity with a mix of Saban ideals and new coaching emphasis. That puts an expectation on Moore as a leader but also Sabb, who comes from Michigan.

“Coach made the joke if you can’t beat them, join him. He stepped right in,” Hitschler said of Sabb. “… He’s humble and hungry.”

That also applies to Hitschler, who coached with Luke Fickell in Cincinnati during the 2022 season when the Bearcats lost to Alabama in Saban’s final College Football Playoff win at the Cotton Bowl.

Hitschler has some connections to the current staff, leading safeties under Kane Wommack at South Alabama in 2014, while Bama’s current defensive line coach Freddie Roach was there too. As Hitschler’s counterpart neatly summarized, it’s all about relationships.

“When you think about the word relationship it’s a four-letter word called time. T-I-M-E. It just takes time,” Linguist said.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].