OC Sarkisian focused on title game in Miami before leading Texas
Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is set to take over as Texas coach after being hired Saturday, but he has a job to finish with the top- ranked Crimson Tide first.
And that is to end the season with a College Football Playoff national championship victory when his team faces No. 3 Ohio State on Monday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
“The commitment I made to Coach [ Nick] Saban two years ago is the same commitment I’ve made to these players,” Sarkisian said Wednesday. “That’s focusing on this game, giving this game the attention that it deserves so our players have an opportunity to go out and play to the best of their abilities.”
How does Sarkisian balance his game- week duties and preparation for the Buckeyes defense while getting a head start on rebuilding t he Longhorns? Sarkisian says that process, for him, doesn’t begin until after Monday’s result is final.
“My week for me would be a normal game week as if I hadn’t taken the Texas job,” he said. “My focus is on the game. I’m prepping for the ballgame. Any of the spare time that I do have, that’s getting my attention for the job at Texas, whether that’s staffing or recruiting, things of that nature.
But I would say my week has been as normal as it could be.”
Being an assistant under Saban has proved valuable for many who went on to successful head coaching tenures, whether it be Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin from earlier in Saban’s Alabama run, Texas A& M coach Jimbo Fisher when Saban led LSU in the early 2000s or former Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio from Saban’s time at the helm of the Spartans in the 1990s, among several others.
Like Kiffin, who spent three seasons at Florida Atlantic before arriving at Ole Miss, Sarkisian has used the opportunity as offensive coordinator under Saban after falling from head coaching graces.
He coached Southern Cal during the 2014 and 2015 seasons after a stint as Washington coach from 2009 to 2013.
“I think it’s a two- way street,” Sarkisian said of working under Saban, first as an offensive analyst in 2016 and then offensive coordinator the past two seasons following time as Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator.
“Coach Saban offers guys like myself an opportunity to come into his program, learn, develop as coaches. But I think it’s a two- way street in that when you come in like a guy like myself, I think you need to come in understanding what your role is. I think you need to come in — I don’t want to call it necessarily humble, but I do think there’s a piece of humility that has to come into this.
“This is the greatest college football coach of all time, and [ you must] recognize the space that you’re in, regardless if you’d been a head coach for seven years, and there’s been a variety of us that have come and gone through here.
“But he’s a tremendous mentor, and if you allow yourself to be mentored, I think you gain even more out of this experience. … Really try to be a sponge with him and why he goes about what he does, some of the decisions he makes, so that if you ever get the opportunity, like I’m getting now, hopefully you can take some of these things with you to be a better coach down the road.”
Under Sarkisian, Alabama’s offense this season ranked second in scoring ( 49.8 points per game) and sixth among major- college football teams in total offense ( 535 yards per game) against an SEC schedule. Three Crimson Tide offensive players were among the top five in Heisman Trophy voting: the winner, wide receiver DeVonta Smith; quarterback Mac Jones ( third); and running back Najee Harris ( fifth).
“Coach Sark has done a great job game- planning all year long. He calls great plays,” Jones said. “He’s coached at all levels — NFL, college — so you can get a lot of different information from what he teaches you when you watch film.”
Sarkisian was also interim offensive coordinator for the championship game that followed the 2016 season after Saban infamously parted ways with Kiffin before the title game loss to Clemson.
Waddle could return
St a ndout Alabama j unior receiver Jaylen Waddle has a chance to return for the championship game Monday. He has not played since fracturing his right ankle on the opening kickoff against Tennessee on Oct. 24.
“He was back out at practice [ Tuesday],” Sarkisian said. “We’ll see where it goes from here.
“Clearly, we’ve got about a week or so until the game, so [ that’s] probably a better question for Coach Saban, but yes, he was back at practice [ Tuesday].”
Saban did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but he is scheduled to speak Thursday.
A Waddle return could pair him opposite Smith, giving Jones another playmaker.
Smith offered “no comment” when asked if there’s a shot of Waddle playing but did say, “I think he’s getting back into it. Of course, he’s going to take some time just for him to get back comfortable with everything, but he looks good to me.”