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Sark Latest ‘Bama Assistant Multi-Tasking Before Title Game

AP – Steve Sarkisian is the latest Alabama coordinator to be drawing up game plans for a national title showdown before leaving for a new head coaching job.
The top-ranked Crimson Tide’s offensive chief is trying to treat the transition as business as usual, saying Wednesday that his āweek has been as normal as it could be.ā
āQuite honestly, my week for me would be a normal game week as if I hadnāt taken the Texas job,ā Sarkisian said. āMy focus is on the game. Iām prepping for the ballgame.ā
But the fact is, Sarkisian is Texas-bound. The Longhorns fired Tom Herman and hired Sarkisian eight days before the national championship game Monday night against No. 3 Ohio State in suburban Miami and following a semifinal win over Notre Dame.
Sarkisian said in his āspare time,ā he focuses on Texas, working on assembling a new staff and recruiting.
This is a familiar scenario for Alabama coach Nick Saban, a six-time national champion coach whose staff has been a prolific head coaching launching (or re-launching) pad for the likes of Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin and Sarkisian.
The difference this time is the accelerated time frame from Sarkisianās hiring to the title game.
Others pulling that double duty have taken their new jobs in early to mid December, giving them a head start on recruiting, hiring staff, etc. But generally this is old hat for Saban and Alabama.
Besides the day-to-day coaching, Sarkisian said he has tried āto be a spongeā with Saban. That means studying āwhy he goes about what he does, some of the decisions he makes.ā
āSo that if you ever get the opportunity like Iām getting now that hopefully you can take some of these things with you to be a better coach down the road,ā he said.
Saban went through a similar transition himself when he was preparing to become head coach at Michigan State with a handful of games remaining while working as Bill Belichickās defensive coordinator for the NFLās Cleveland Browns.
His message: Remember that those opportunities wouldnāt come if the players didnāt perform.
āSo you kind of owe it to the players to give your best, to do your best to help them get prepared for the game so they can play well in the game,ā Saban said. āThatās how I always felt. I think thatās how Sark feels.
āMost of the guys in the past have been able to do that and been effective, and itās not been a distraction for us. Weāre going to try to help manage it every way that we can so that itās not a distraction for us this year.ā
Sarkisian has directed one of the nationās most explosive offenses, with an offensive line honored as the nationās best, plus three top-5 Heisman Trophy finishers led by winner DeVonta Smith. He won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant.
Sarkisian is a former USC and Washington coach who arrived at Alabama as an analyst in 2016 and has used the experience to re-launch his head coaching career.
The list of Alabama coordinators landing head jobs ahead of big games continues to grow:
ā Mike Locksley, offensive coordinator to Maryland: Like Sarkisian, Locksley started at Alabama as an analyst. Like Sarkisian, he won the Broyles Award. Then he was hired by Maryland December 4, 2018. Alabama beat Oklahoma in the semifinals before a 44-16 loss to Clemson in the national title game.
ā Kirby Smart, defensive coordinator to Georgia. Smart juggled both jobs for more than a month after his Dec. 6, 2015 hiring. The Tide still beat Clemson 45-40.
ā Lane Kiffin, offensive coordinator to Florida Atlantic. Kiffin coached Alabama in the semifinal win over Washington in 2016, but after a lackluster offensive performance he didnāt stick around for the 35-31 championship game loss to Clemson. Sarkisian was elevated from analyst but wound up leaving to run the Atlanta Falcons offense. āIt was a tremendous experience,ā Sarkisian said of his title-game reign over the offense. āIt was a unique one.ā
ā Jim McElwain, offensive coordinator to Colorado State. Nearly a month passed from his hiring to the January 2012 title game rematch against LSU, which āBama won 21-0. Now at Central Michigan, McElwain went on to also lead the Florida Gators program. He was hired on Dec. 12.
ā Jeremy Pruitt, defensive coordinator to Tennessee. Helped the Tide win the 2017 national championship after accepting the job with the Volunteers that December.
Now, it’s Sarkisian’s turn. Jones has some advice for the Longhorns quarterbacks about their new coach. The Alabama QB said they should ājust say enjoy Coach Sark. Heās a great guy.”
āHeās coached at all levels, NFL, college, so you can get a lot of different information from what he teaches you when you watch film,ā Jones said. āAnd then just learn how to think like Coach Sark, because he sees everything the defense does and heās going to put you in the best position to succeed as a quarterback and an offense.ā
First things first. He’ll try to make all the right calls for Alabama one more time.