Alabama coach Nick Saban was asked about reports of Sarkisian joining his staff Monday and said he was glad to have Sarkisian as part of his organization as an offensive analyst.
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Steve Sarkisian followed Lane Kiffin as the USC head coach.
The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide annihilated USC 52-6 in AT&T Stadium Saturday, handing the Trojans their worst loss in a season opener in program history, and their worst overall loss since 1966.
Sarkisian was sacked by the Trojans in the middle of the 2015 season after having trouble dealing with alcoholism.
“I told him we’d love to have him as a part of the organization”. “Professionally, he loves coaching, and so we thought it would be a good thing for our organization to have (him)”. “He’s going through some personal things to get himself in a very positive position and wants to continue to do those things in the future and professionally”.
ESPN’s Shelley Smith reported USC instituted a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol use, which Sarkisian broke when he arrived to team facilities in October allegedly appearing intoxicated. He filed a wrongful terminal lawsuit against the University last December, claiming the school should have allowed him to seek treatment for alcoholism rather than dismissing him.
Sarkisian went 9-4 (won Holiday) in his first season with USC and was 1-2 past year when Haden fired him.
“We’re going to continue to help him as an organization”, Saban said. Sarkisian succeeded Kiffin as USC’s head coach after the 2013 season. “Hopefully he’ll be able to get back on his feet professionally and this will be beneficial to him”.
Sarkisian took over a Huskies team that was 0-12 in 2008.
Sarkisian, 42, has been angling for an assistant coaching job for some time.
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He now has five former FBS head coaches on his staff – which has to be some kind of record – and only two of them are among the nine permissible assistant coaches.
