College Football: 5 best coordinators who will be head coaches by 2021
By John Buhler
Steve Sarkisian. 2. Scouting Report. Offensive Coordinator. Alabama Crimson Tide. Pick Analysis. player. 829
This one is different because Steve Sarkisian won’t be a first-time head coach. The former head coach of the Washington Huskies and the USC Trojans has undergone quite the rehabilitation project since substance abuse issues wrecked his life in 2015. In the years since, Sarkisian has worked under Nick Saban at Alabama and under Dan Quinn in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.
Sarkisian is back in his second stint on Saban’s staff after getting fired by the Falcons at the end of the 2018 NFL season. Even though it didn’t end well for him in Atlanta, Sarkisian was able to have one of the better offenses in the league during his two years in Flowery Branch. With Mac Jones back in 2020, Sarkisian might have the season needed to finally get back into the big chair.
Alabama is the favorite to win the SEC and get back into the College Football Playoff after a year’s absence. Even if the Tide doesn’t win the SEC, another 10-win season should be enough to propel Sarkisian to a respectable Power 5 job. We know this because he was in the running for a handful of excellent jobs in this last coaching cycle.
Sarkisian was tied to Arkansas, Mississippi State and Missouri in the SEC, as well as the Colorado gig once Mel Tucker left for Michigan State. One would think the SEC or the Pac-12 are the ideal landing spots for Sarkisian as a college football head coach. If Lane Kiffin could rehabilitate his reputation under Saban and eventually become a Power 5 head coach again, so can Sarkisian.