Former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian has a new home in Austin, Texas, as the head coach of the University of Texas Longhorns. His journey to this landing spot was not a smooth one, but he got a little help along the way from one of the game’s elite figures.
In a recent interview with CBS Sports, Sarkisian opened up about his return to Tuscaloosa after a failed stint in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.
He claims to have known he wanted to be a head coach again during the 2020 Iron Bowl, when Sarkisian had to coach the Crimson Tide because Saban was out due to COVID protocols. Having one of the greatest coaches to ever enter the game have faith in Sarkisian to take over the program for a rivalry game means a lot.
“What I learned for myself was to get the trust and stamp of approval from him was almost like the last piece of the puzzle for me,” Sarkisian said. “He entrusted me to call the game very aggressively. He entrusted me to put our players in a place to be successful. Ultimately, he entrusted (the team) to me when he couldn’t be there. I could be the head football coach for a game.”
Sarkisian knew when he was offered a coordinator job at Alabama that it would be a step in the direction of becoming a head coach again.
“I didn’t know enough of the ‘whys,'” Sarkisian said. “I knew what coach Saban was doing. I knew how he did it. I didn’t know why he did what he did. I just said, ‘I have a chance to go back to Alabama to get the finishing touches on my career, which is to be a head coach again.’
Now, Sarkisian joins a handful of coaches across the country that have ties to Nick Saban and Tuscaloosa. There are no guarantees in college football, nor is there much job security. Sarkisian has a heavy task ahead of him, as he’ll take the reins of one of the most storied programs in college football history.
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