Alabama Football: 10 Most Important People in the Program

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) In a program like Alabama, everyone is important. It only takes one person to cast a bad light on the entire program. Take Penn State's fiasco in the Jerry Sandusky mess. One person almost brought down a whole program.

So while one can hurt a program, it takes many to hold it up to the standards that a program like Alabama has built.

This article recognizes who those people are doing that and why they are important to the program.

Remember, players come and go, but these are people who shape a program the way few players can ever hope to do.

Below is a comment section where you can get involved and let us know who you think was overrated in this article or people that you feel were omitted.

Dr. Robert Whitt: President of the University of Alabama

I have met Dr. Robert Witt and cannot say how much he means not just to the University of Alabama as an educational institution, but to the athletic program as well.

Dr. Witt is a winner. He is a motivator and a driver in everything Alabama.

He wants the school to lead the country in academics, athletics, fundraising, alumni involvement and be the top of any category you can be ranked in down to most litter-free campus.

His philosophy of "Be the best" is infectious.

In an interview with Nick Saban, he told me, "I've never been associated with another university president that I admire more, that works harder or that cares as much about all aspects of the university as Dr. Witt...I've never had a president that meets with recruits and their families like Dr. Witt...His involvement in recruiting and selling the parents on the academic side of the university has been invaluable and has helped us land some borderline cases."

Saban went on to say that Dr. Witt is the reason Alabama is what it is today on the national stage and that all ratings and rankings continue to go up under his leadership.

While some administrators are academic-minded only, Dr. Witt is pro-Alabama in every area.

Jonathan Bowling: Tightening the Standards on Compliance

The photo above is the University of Alabama's compliance office, and the man in charge there is Jonathan Bowling (top row right side).

No university can have a quality athletic program with compliance issues. Alabama fans can remember a few years back what running afoul of those issues can do to a program.

Bowling has instituted a proactive stance in compliance that includes educating alumni, students, players and fans. It is working.

Just this month, the compliance office received the Sam S. May Commitment to Service Award at the fall faculty/staff meeting. They were recognized for their ongoing commitment to customers, innovation and creativity and in improvement in customer service.

To have a successful program, you have to be out of hot water with the NCAA, and Bowling is doing a wonderful job of doing just that.

This is one of those jobs that you rarely know who is running it until something goes wrong.

It's good to acknowledge this fine staff and publicly point out the good work they do and the importance over the program they have.

(Back row, l-r) Elliott Charles, Mike Ward, Jonathan Bowling. (Front row, l-r) Cody Weber, Daniel Fieg, Carol Lucas, Matt Self.

Dr. Jimmy Robinson: Everyone That Plays for Alabama Knows This Man

You can't name important people to the Alabama program without talking about Dr. Jimmy Robinson.

Since opening his practice in 1989, no one person has been as instrumental to the physical well being of Alabama's athletes as Dr. Robinson, who has served as team doctor since then.

He has brought in others, such as his partners, Craig Buettner and Jeff Laubenthal, a former stand-out baseball player for the Tide. They have also brought in renowned Dr. James Andrews, who is nationally famous for his surgical skill in repairing the knees, shoulders and such of America's top athletes.

From day one when they get their first physical, to the last day they are on campus and get their post-athletic career physical, Dr. Robinson meets every athlete.

His work is simply phenomenal.

Dee Hart for example, a freshman running back, taken out with an ACL injury, could play today, but they are holding his red shirt because of all the time he's already missed. That injury should have taken much longer to heal, but that's just the work that Dr. Robinson oversees all the time.

Countless athletes have recovered faster than ever expected due to Dr. Robinson overseeing their care and treatment. Without him, the Tide program would be hurting.

The fact that he is there and is so good is a reason some parents send their children to Alabama for their sports careers. They know their child will be in good medical hands.

When it comes to recruiting, Saban really does have all the bases covered.

Scott Cochran: Physical Trainer and Mental Guru

Scott Cochran is a tornado trapped inside a human shell. After getting to know Cochran, it's hard to imagine this man sleeping.

It's also hard to believe he hasn't worn out his vocal chords.

His title is head strength and conditioning coach, but he is so much more to the players.

His energy and enthusiasm is infectious to university athletes.

Cochran's, "You owe your soul to God, but your body is mine" attitude helps shape every athlete he comes into touch with.

I had to devote a whole article to him that you can read by clicking this colored link. You can't tell his story in just a single slide.

But his work is vital to keeping Alabama's athletes in such condition and trained in ways to both take and avoid hits that they actually avoid injuries.

Alabama is among the national leaders in fewest severe injuries to players.

Read that article and see why.

Chris Rumph: Defensive Line Coach and Recruiting Magnet

Chris Rumph is someone who can be counted as one of Nick Saban's best hires. He's a great position coach, and he's a coach that players and recruits are both drawn to and admire.

He has put his stamp on this defensive line as the defensive line coach, and the players have bought into his philosophies 100 percent.

He is instrumental in many of the recruits Alabama has attracted, and his players have become the top defensive line in the country.

In college, Rumph was both a noted linebacker and defensive lineman for the South Carolina Gamecocks.

His coaching career started in high school, then a year at South Carolina State coaching defensive backs before going to Memphis and helping turn around that defense.

In those Memphis years, they appeared in bowl games in every one of his seasons and beat SEC rival Ole Miss two of those three years.

One of his years at tiny Memphis, the Tigers finished ninth in the nation in total defense (2003).

After this, he went to Clemson and helped turn that defense around.

In his five years there, they were always rated in the top 25 defenses in the country, and his recruiting skills became honed to a razor's edge.

Now, he's doing all that at Alabama, and the fans are certainly loving the results.

Jeff Stoutland: Offensive Line Coach

Jeff Stoutland took over a tough job. He had to replace the man who was perhaps the most respected offensive line coach in the country, Joe Pendry.

Pendry was not only good at his job, but at getting recruits. Great linemen want to play for a coach that has a history of getting his men into the NFL, and Pendry did.

So when he retired, Saban went out to find the next best man, and he got him.

Stoutland is instrumental in helping Alabama's offensive line be a dominant force in college football, and his prowess as a recruiter has not hurt Alabama since Pendry's retirement.

Alabama is who it is because of how the offense and defensive lines play and dominate.

Without Stoutland, this team may not be contending for a championship this year, as well as beyond.

Mark Ingram: Gone but Certainly Not Forgotten and Still Helping

Mark Ingram not only helped the University of Alabama while he was a player, but he continues to help the team today, not only by keeping contact with the players who are his friends and motivating them, but by what he both meant and still means to the program.

Ingram became proof to the most prolific and elite athletes that you could win a Heisman Trophy at Alabama.

That is something that will help Alabama for years to come.

Kirby Smart: Man, Motivator, Coach, Recruiter and Friend.

Kirby Smart. I teased him once asking what he wanted to do when he grew up. I said that because of his youthful infectious enthusiasm he exhibits during football practices and games.

He is famous for his chest bumps and bear hugs.

And the players love it, and they love him more.

In interviewing players regularly, I never hear them speak about a coach with more affection than Coach Smart. That's not his defensive players, but offensive players too.

He's found that razor-thin wire to walk to be both respected as a coach, but be loved and thought of as a friend, too.

Smart's defenses rank year in and year out as one of the nation's best. Those defenses help define who Alabama is as a team. It, quite simply, is their identity.

How long Alabama is able to hold on to such a wonderful coach as Smart is questionable, but his importance to program can not be overstated.

Mal Moore: The Man Who Put All the Pieces Together.

You simply can't talk about Alabama athletics without putting this man near the top of the list. No man has done more for Alabama athletics over the last 30 years as their Athletic Director, Mal Moore.

He put all the pieces together that makes Alabama not just one of the top athletic programs in the country, but one that can boast of the finest facilities in all of sports.

You can't possibly relate just how much Moore means to the program in one slide, but you can read my article on him by clicking on this colored link.

Moore left a legacy and facilities that will continue to help the university long after he is gone.

He is truly the invaluable link that made everything come together.

Nick Saban, the Man, the Rock-Star Coach and the Recruiting Genius

Nick Saban is the rock-star coach, the recruiting genius, the man with the process and the hyper energy that makes the Alabama program what it is.

There's not an aspect of coaching, recruiting or administration that is beyond his ability to perform at the top level.

There's no coach in football that creates so much excitement for recruits to be around. Players I've interviewed that didn't sign with Alabama still said that just meeting Coach Saban was the biggest thrill of their entire recruiting process.

Mal Moore may have put the train on the tracks, but Saban is driving the train and taking the program back to the lofty heights that they have wanted to get back to for so long.

Nick Saban is Alabama football right now, and as long as he's there, they will continue to win.

And win big.

(Larry Burton is a syndicated writer whose work appears online and in print. If you'd like to keep up with all his articles, follow him on Twitter and sign up as a fan on his profile page.)