The "grandfather" of Alabama's staff will sometimes sit through an entire offensive staff meeting without saying a word.

But he is a Nick Saban-like presence.

Saban is usually in the Tide's defensive meetings. The "grandfather" -- Joe Pendry -- is an extension of Saban in the offensive meetings.

"He really was like a fly on the wall in those meetings," said Fresno State offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau, who was an offensive analyst for Alabama last season. "Sometimes he wouldn't say a word, but he's always in the meetings and always sitting back there listening. And if something came up, he would give his input. He was never saying, 'It's got to be this way.' He would just give his input and then let the offensive staff make whatever decision they wanted to go with. And I will say this, too. If you ever started to deter away from Alabama football or got away from how Alabama does it, he'd always remind you, 'Hey, guys, this is what we've done forever. We've won national championships. We've won SEC championships. Let's not get off track.'"

Most outside of Alabama's program probably haven't thought about Pendry since he retired in 2011 after four seasons as the Tide's offensive line coach.

There is nothing on the Internet that suggests Pendry still makes any contribution to the Alabama program. He isn't even one of the 32 people listed as football staffers on Alabama's athletics website.

But the soon-to-be 69-year old remains a valued contributor to the Tide football team, serving as a resource for Saban and other Alabama coaches in a special adviser-like role.

He's been helping in this behind-the-scenes role ever since retiring. His contributions are valuable enough that he was paid $160,260 last year, according to the university's financial database.

"He was a great offensive line coach here and did a great job recruiting guys to come here as offensive linemen," Saban said. "Even after he retired, he has been a very valuable part of making sure -- as coaches -- we are doing things fundamentally the way they need to be done so we can help our players grow and develop. He is a great friend who is very much trusted by myself and everyone in this organization as the grandfather, so to speak, of this is how we need to do it right."

Pendry is a trusted confidant of Saban.

The two West Virginia natives have been friends for around 50 years, though Alabama was the first time they worked together.

Saban is considered one of the defensive minds in recent history. Pendry is a respected offensive mind with an impressive coaching background.

Since beginning his career in 1971, Pendry has been an offensive coordinator in both college and the NFL, and he's coached nearly every offensive position at some point during his career. During his NFL career, he served as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (1985), the Kansas City Chiefs (1989-92), the Carolina Panthers (1995-97), the Buffalo Bills (1998-2000) and the Houston Texans (2005).

Earlier in his career, Pendry was Dan Marino's quarterback coach when Marino was a freshman at Pittsburgh in 1979.

Saban valued Pendry so much as an assistant head coach and offensive line coach that Pendry was Alabama's highest paid assistant in 2009, making $390,000. Only defensive coordinator Kirby Smart made more than Pendry's $425,000 in 2010.

Since retiring, Pendry has been most helpful as a sounding board for Saban and other Alabama staffers, like former Tide offensive coordinator Jim McElwain.

McElwain, now the head coach at Florida, said Pendry helped him with some "special projects" in 2011 after Pendry retired, including one with Alabama's goal-line and short-yardage offense.

"There's very little that he hasn't already done and doesn't already know the holes in it because of his experience," McElwain said. "That was great because when we would do something install-wise, he was able to say, 'OK, here are a couple things that are going to hurt it, so we've got to be aware of that.'"

Last year, Pendry was a resource for Kiesau, who was hired to help Alabama transition to more of an up-tempo, no-huddle offense.

Kiesau was in constant communication with offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin and other Tide offensive coaches.

And also Pendry.

"Joe Pendry is awesome," Kiesau said. "He has so much knowledge, and he understands the brand of football Alabama wants to run, so he was a sounding board in the meetings. And if any thoughts or anything came up, he would help and try to fix it and try to keep it very simple for the O-line. He has a big O-line background. So there were some things, like when I was producing the terminology, he would say for example, 'Well, no, we still need this word because it affects the left tackle.'"

Here's something else to keep in mind.

For a third straight year, Alabama will begin preseason practice still in search of its starting quarterback.

There will be discussions among Saban and the Tide's offensive coaches about the quarterbacks throughout fall camp. Saban will also meet with offensive coaches individually. Pendry's opinion may mean as much to Saban as any member of the offensive staff.

"Everybody in that building respects him," Kiesau said, "and he's still an invaluable resource for Alabama football."