The last time we saw Alabama on the gridiron, we all know what happened. Clemson humbled Nick Saban’s program in a major way.

Those in Tuscaloosa may be saying all the right things when it comes to the motivation that will follow that historic loss but others around the Southeastern Conference aren’t buying it.

The most recent example of that comes from an anonymous SEC coach. In a story posted by longtime Knoxville-based WNML sports radio station host Jimmy Hyams, the coach said he could see Alabama losing several games in the coming season.

Here is the excerpt from the column discussing Alabama and the issues Saban’s program could face in the coming season:

“Nick Saban went 14-0 (before facing Clemson) and was miserable because of all the staff changes and nobody knew how to do it the Alabama way,’’ one SEC coach said. “Now it’s going to be the Steve Sarkisian experiment (as offensive coordinator). Can he score points?

“They’ve got holes in the defense. I can see them losing 2-3 games. They lost Mack Wilson. They’re missing guys up front. Raekwon Davis didn’t play that well last year.

“The team that will give them the most trouble in the West is Texas A&M.’’

That’s a pretty bold take considering you have to go all the way back to 2012 to find a season in which a Saban-coached Alabama team lost more than one game in a single season.