Nick Saban on Steve Sarkisian: One of the best offensive coaches we've ever been around

Alabama‘s matchup vs. Texas in 2022 was one of the biggest ‘what if’ games of the season. Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers went down early, but through head coach Steve Sarkisian’s guide, kept Texas in the game before ultimately falling 20-19.

If anyone knows Sarkisian it’s Saban. The Texas headman served on Saban’s staff on two separate occasions during 2016 and against from 2019-2020 and couldn’t say enough about his former offensive coordinator ahead of Alabama and Texas’ matchup this weekend.

“I think Sark is one of the best coaches we’ve ever been around when it comes to offense,” Saban said on Wednesday. “He has great disposition with the players, he has great understanding of the game. He really understands defense and how to attack defenses, but he has some really good concepts on offense that are hard to defend.

“Understands how to present that in different ways so whatever you practiced, it doesn’t come up that way in the game, which makes it hard on our defensive players.”

In 2022, the Longhorns averaged 34.5 points per game while compiling 5,584 total yards of offense, good for fifth in the Big 12 with a fairly balanced attack.

Sarkisian saw similar success during his second stint with the Crimson Tide. He coached Alabama’s offensive weapons — DeVonta Smith, Mac Jones and Najee Harris — all to Heisman Trophy votes with the eventual winner, Smith, taking home the glory as well as the national championship. His first stint was as an offensive analyst, though he served one game — the 2017 national championship — as offensive coordinator before leaving for the NFL.

“Sark did a great job here for us,” Saban said. “He’s doing a great job at Texas and it’s going to be a very challenging game. He recruited well, they coach well and they’ve got good players.”

Heading into the 2023 season having wrapped up the No. 3 overall recruiting class, Sarkisian has five star recruits are coming in at the quarterback, running back, wide receiver and linebacker. Sound familiar, Alabama fans? That’s not a fluke — he’s learned it from the best.

The relationship between Saban and Sarkisian continued after he left to pursue his NFL coaching gigs, but when he was fired as the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons after a disappointing 7-9 finish, Sarkisian knew he had a home to return to in Tuscaloosa. It just so happened it was for more than just an analyst position.

“I like giving people second chances,” Saban said, who takes on more analysts than most can count each offseason. “I think that their willingness to do the right things and whatever their mistakes were, they’re trying to fix it and look for an opportunity. Geez, when Sark was here the first time he did such a good job, there was no question about the fact that we’d love to have him back a second time.

“He represented the program well, he’s first class in every way, so I was glad I gave him a second chance. I’m glad that he came here, whether it was an analyst or whatever, proved that he could do a good job and went on to Atlanta to be the coordinator and came back here to be the coordinator so it’s great.”

And from there, Sarkisian headed to Texas and it all has led up to Saturday.

It should be noted that only two of Saban’s former assistants have ever defeated him. Georgia headman Kirby Smart and Texas A&M‘s Jimbo Fisher are the only two to unseat Saban’s Crimson Tide. Sarkisian is trying to be the third and has that opportunity — for a second time in two seasons — on Saturday, though this time is inside Bryant-Denny Stadium, his first trip to T-Town since his tenure came to an end.