Saban made a vague reference to the rocky past when he said Sarkisian is still undergoing treatment and Alabama “absolutely” is helping him deal with alcoholism.
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Lane Kiffin is out as offensive coordinator, and Steve Sarkisian is in.
Not after ruin, rehab and a road to redemption that leads to Raymond James Stadium, where he’ll call plays for Alabama in Monday’s College Football Playoff national title game.
In stepped Sarkisian, whom Saban brought onboard as an analyst earlier this season and not an official coach. He knows the system inside and out, knows the terminology.
Every defensive meeting at Clemson this week might as well have started with coordinator Brent Venables passing around a photo of Alabama’s O.J. Howard with the caption “Know where 88 is at all times”. He’s a more sober (pardon the pun) playcaller than his buddy Lane – at least he will be for Monday night’s game. This is about visits in the fall to college towns such as Starkville and Auburn. Gallman said he’s been informed by the Clemson staff that scouts now see him as a second- or third-round draft pick, though he hasn’t filed for feedback from the NFL Draft Advisory Committee. A day later, Haden fired Sarkisian, who later sued the school for wrongful termination. Spiller called the junior one of the top three running backs in the nation, Gallman – who intends to file for early draft eligibility – didn’t flinch when asked about how he stacks up with Leonard Fournette, Christian McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook and other top rushers expected to be in the draft class.
“It’s hard sometimes when you’re in a situation when you have a new opportunity and a new job, and we mutually agreed that in the best interest of everyone that this would be the best thing for us to do relative to the experience that we had in preparation for Washington and playing in the game”, Saban said. “I think we’ve worked well together this week and ultimately I think we’ll work well together Monday night”. We certainly have seen that the last couple of days. And his contribution was very positive, his personality was very positive, his organizational skills are very positive, he’s a very good teacher. I think he’s very well organized in his approach, and I’d tell him what I tell any coach: We’ve prepared to do certain things in certain situations. He then went off for 208 yards on five catches with two scores as Clemson’s defense seemed unaware that Howard was an eligible receiver. Kiffin modernized Alabama’s attack as instructed and his infamous mouth was kept in check by restrictions on media access placed by Saban.
Out of the spotlight while dealing with his demons, including a substance abuse problem that cost him more than just his head coaching job at Southern California, Sarkisian was looking for his next step.
Brohm said Clemson’s offense, which is heavy on misdirection and gets Watson involved in the running game, matches up as well as possible against Alabama’s defense. He will be responsible for the development of teenagers.
“They did a great job schematically of getting him into the flow of the game”, Brown said. Some say the best ever under Nick Saban.
The 18-year-old Hurts is coming off a poor performance – he completed just 7 of 14 passes for a season-low 57 yards and averaged 2.6 yards per carry – while Sarkisian is preparing to call plays for the first time since December 2010. Of tangible note for the National Championship Game, Sarkisian indicated that he would be on the Alabama sideline to call plays, rather than up in the press box. And Sarkisian’s play-calling roots date to when he shared those duties with Kiffin at USC under Pete Carroll.
“That’s where I’m comfortable”, he said.
Contrary to many others, I absolutely love bowl season. “Coach Sarkisian is an enthusiastic guy who’s electric”.
Those stops included the University of Florida, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a week in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with Saban and Kiffin, a former colleague at USC. Sarkisian had already accepted the head coaching job at Washington. “The talks were in play after that”. But unlike Kiffin, Sarkisian knows how not to place foot in mouth. He had won a national title at LSU, then became the head coach with the Dolphins and struggled.
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“In the coaching world, I’m still very young”, he said.
