Has Nick Saban gone through so many coaches that he’s now forced to recycle former assistants?
Offensive coordinator Mike Locksley was hired to take the head job at Maryland and was expected to be replaced by quarterbacks coach Dan Enos; instead, Enos left to take over as the coordinator at Miami. Wide receivers coach Josh Gattis also bolted to become the coordinator at Michigan, while offensive line coach Brent Key left to take a job at Georgia Tech.
Add it all up, and Saban has four holes (for now) to fill on his offensive coaching staff. According to one report, the future College Football Hall of Fame head coach will reach back to the past to fill at least one of those openings.
While the Arizona Cardinals offered Steve Sarkisian the offensive coordinator position, sources say he will headed back to coach with Nick Saban at Alabama.
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) January 13, 2019
While no role was specified, it’s assumed that Sarkisian would assume the coordinator mantle.
After his unceremonious exit as the head coach at USC, Sarkisian joined the Alabama football program as an offensive analyst for the 2016 season. When Lane Kiffin took the head job at FAU prior to the national championship game that year, Sarkisian served as the play-caller in the loss to Clemson.
Expected to take over as the Crimson Tide’s coordinator, and after reports that his relationship with Saban had deteriorated surfaced, Sarkisian instead left a month after the title game for a job in the NFL as the coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons. Sarkisian lasted two years in that job before he was fired last month.