Nick Saban coaching tree adds another branch with Steve Sarkisian getting Texas job

The Nick Saban coaching tree grew another branch with Steve Sarkisian taking the job at Texas.

The best way to become a college football head coach is to be an assistant on Nick Saban’s staff.

Saban is the coach-maker with Steve Sarkisian becoming the 12th assistant on his staff at Alabama to get a head coaching job. That’s 12 jobs in his 14 years in Tuscaloosa, which is a staggering rate of developing coaches. His rate at developing NFL players may only be surpassed by his ability to develop young coaches as well as rehabilitate former head coaches and get them a new job.

With Sarkisian getting the job at Texas after the firing of Tom Herman, the Saban coaching tree adds another branch that features head coaches populating the SEC, such as Kirby Smart, Jeremy Pruitt and Lane Kiffin. Additionally, Butch Jones left the staff to become the head coach at Arkansas State earlier this offseason.

Nick Saban has had 12 of his Alabama assistants become head coaches

And then there’s Jim McElwain, Billy Napier, Mario Cristobal, Mel Tucker, Mike Locksley, Major Applewhite and Curt Cignetti are all part of the Saban coaching tree that had or are head coaches.

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Further, Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher, former Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley and former South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp are from the Saban tree, although didn’t come from Alabama. LIkewise for former Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio who was replaced by another former Saban disciple, Mel Tucker. And don’t forget about Bobby Williams, who succeeded Saban at Michigan State.

There’s already been speculation that Muschamp could join Saban’s staff as a defensive assistant but he’s got a lot of buyout money from South Carolina so he may enjoy some time off. The same goes for Herman who is now out of a job but has $15 million coming to him as part of his buyout agreement, so the chances of him replacing Sarkisian, the man who took his job at Texas, is about as likely as any of you reading this of getting a job on Saban’s staff.

But I bet Saban could even get us a job as a head coach at one of the 130 FBS jobs in college football. It’s what he does.

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