Will Steve Sarkisian coach Alabama in National Championship Game?

Steve Sarkisian will leave the Alabama Crimson Tide for the Texas Longhorns at some point.

Alabama football fans knew they were going to lose Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian at some point. He is expected to take over for Tom Herman and lead the Texas Longhorns in 2021.

With Texas making big moves on Saturday morning, we should expect Sarkisian to be announced as the Longhorns’ next head coach in the coming days. However, he still has a job to do in Tuscaloosa, as Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide are facing the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday, Jan. 11. Will he even coach in it?

Yes, according to Matt Zenitz, Saban said Sarkisian will remain with the team through the National Championship Game vs. Ohio State.

Expect Steve Sarkisian to head to Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 12

While it is up to him, typically coordinators on teams playing for a national title end up seeing the season through before heading elsewhere. Notable examples of this include Kirby Smart finishing out his time as Alabama’s defensive coordinator in 2015 before taking over the Georgia Bulldogs, as well as Herman leaving Ohio State to become the Houston Cougars head coach in 2014.

There are are a lot of interesting precedents set during the College Football Playoff era, but one of the more positive ones is seeing top-flight coordinators help their mentors close out a title campaign. For that reason, do not expect Sarkisian to be all decked out in burnt orange and white until Tuesday, Jan. 12, the day after the national championship game down in Miami Gardens.

It would be odd if Sarkisian does not end up coaching Alabama through the national title game.

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