Kirk Herbstreit on former assistants struggling vs Nick Saban: 'It's more Alabama than anything'

On Saturday, another former assistant of Nick Saban will hope to notch a victory over their former boss, as Steve Sarkisian leads the Texas Longhorns into Tuscaloosa.

Sarkisian came close to defeating Saban’s Crimson Tide in 2022, and the sting of defeat has lingered over his head since falling short against Alabama. While the Longhorns leader certainly isn’t alone in his struggle to defeat Saban, it adds to the mystique regarding Saban’s success over his former assistant coaches.

While many subscribe to that theory, Kirk Herbstreit can’t be counted among them, as the ESPN College GameDay analyst touched on the subject ahead of Texas at Alabama.

“I hate to take it. I think it was Sark, I don’t know if it was this week, but Sark made a comment about look at his record against guys that didn’t ever coach for him,” Herbstreit said. “He’s Nick Saban, in my opinion, the greatest coach in the history of college football. And so you look at his record against anybody and it’s pretty darn good. I think there became a narrative that these guys that were coordinators under him, now they become head coaches. They maybe understand Alabama, Nick Saban better than others, and they should have somewhat of an advantage competing against him. And so everyone started to talk a little bit about the record, and then finally, Kirby had some moments where he’s been able to beat him. I just think it’s Alabama more than anything.

“I happen to agree with Sark about, he does this against his former assistants and he does it to everybody else, is who Nick Saban is. I have nothing but respect and admiration for what Coach Saban has done since he’s been at Alabama. I’m not one that takes it for granted. Every year he decides to come back, I thank the football gods if we get another year of watching him coach, because I love the sport so much and I just love watching him do his thing. I think we’ve learned there’s no real advantage being a former assistant under Nick Saban when it comes to these match-ups, just like any other coach going against him.”

Alas, Herbstreit makes some salient points, as Nick Saban puts everyone to the fire, not just his former assistants. Still, the point remains, and it would mean a ton to Steve Sarkisian to get a victory over his former boss on Saturday.