Texas coaching staff's familiarity with Alabama provides 'comfort factor' in Week 2 matchup

There will be a lot of former Alabama staffers on the Texas sideline when the Longhorns kick off against the Crimson Tide on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Of course, head coach Steve Sarkisian spent two seasons as an offensive coordinator under Nick Saban, but he isn’t the only one.

Offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Kyle Flood, tight ends and special teams coach Jeff Banks and defensive line coach Bo Davis all also have prior stints at Alabama. It’s not just Saban they’re familiar with either. Sarkisian also faced off twice against Alabama defensive coordinator Kevin Steele in 2019 and 2020 when the latter was at Auburn.

BamaOnline‘s Tim Watts joined On3‘s Andy Staples on Sunday to discuss what role, if any, that will play in helping the Longhorns have a chance at pulling off a win.

“I think it helps as far as the comfort factor,” he said. “Steve Sarkisian, he’s gotta know Kevin Steele. He’s been around a long time and they’ve certainly probably faced each other as offensive and defensive coordinators. So there’s that familiarity. But you’ve also got to think that helps Kevin Steele a little bit because he knows what he’s going up against. It’s probably not a huge deal. I think the comfort factor’s the biggest deal.”

Of those three assistant coaches, both Flood and Banks were on staff at Alabama when Sarkisian was there. They followed him to Austin when he took over as the Longhorns coach in 2021 and have been there ever since. Davis also joined the staff in 2021, but his past experience with the Crimson Tide came during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Because all of the Texas coaches were on staff last year when it faced Alabama, we can look at that game as a preview for how this season’s might play out. The Longhorns found themselves with a chance to win after kicking a field goal to go up 19-17 with 1:29 remaining. However, the Crimson Tide quickly marched downfield to answer with a field goal of its own to walk away with a 20-19 win.

It should be noted that Alabama hired new offensive and defensive coordinators in Tommy Reese and Steele, so some things will be different. But regardless of whether this year’s matchup lives up to that entertainment factor, Watts expects there to be respect between both coaching staffs.

“There was no bad blood when Sark left,” he said. “I think that helped. You’re not expecting Nick Saban not to shake his hand or Sark not to speak to him before the game or anything like that. Bo Davis has been one of Nick Saban’s guys forever. So I think there’s not gonna be a lot of bad blood. You saw it last year in a close game. You didn’t hear a lot of trash talking before, after or during the game. So I think you’ll see a good, clean, hard-fought game.”

Both Alabama and Texas lose their star players from last year with Bryce Young and Bijan Robinson on the the NFL. Still, the two schools enter the year as favorite to compete for a College Football Playoff spot, and a win here would go a long way in building their resume toward that goal.

Kickoff between the Crimson Tide and Longhorns is set for 6 p.m. CT on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.