Nick Saban made the expected move by making Steve Sarkisian the replacement for Lane Kiffin at Alabama. Saban probably had it planned when he hired Sarkisian back in September.
“He has a tremendous offensive mind and is someone we believe will do a great job of teaching and developing our football team on the offensive side of the ball,” Saban said.
Here’s the thing: How many other coaches have gotten the chances of Kiffin/Sarkisian despite at best mixed results?
Too late for this article. Old news.
Sark will be announced as the replacement for Kiffen at FAU in 3 years. Kiffen leaving to take HC job at Houston. Film at 11:00.
Yep. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Sark follows Kiffin again.
And Kiffen returning to SC as a janitor would be the biggest coup of all.
Lane Kiffin – born on third base; thinks he hit a triple…
Good one. That’s funny. Fails up!
More like, born on third base, thinks he hit a home run, and thinks he’s on third because the world screwed him over
Day late and a dollar short, Flow.
Who cares!
It looks like Saban had a strong USC fetish under Carroll’s incredible run. That’s why he keeps hiring these former SC junkies.
Yep, there’s no doubt about that!
Or, they all have the same agent
Question for you. Why would any college football organization hire a man to run their entire program primarily because of his agent?
Would you do that? I’d never do that in a million years. I’d negotiate with his agent, but if I didn’t really like the client, I’d say, not for us.
Saban hired Sark because his deal with the Kiffer worked out very well for the Tide, the Kiffer and Sark are fully joined at the hip, Saban and the Kiffer wanted to split and Saban got to test drive a desperate Sark for free and he knows Sark’s philosophy is close enough to his that he can still be hugely successful.
Sark would have been hired even if he had no agent. He was a slam dunk and is exceptionally qualified for the job now that he is off the sauce.
Jack, I have warned you about using logic and objectivity–it doesn’t sell. If you want clicks you have to ride the anti Sark and anti Kiffin horse. Don’t listen to a success like Saban or others in the coaching profession when you come to your conclusions about the worthiness of Sark or Kiff. If you want to have any credibility you have forever stick it to them– regardless of the facts.
Jack-
I Agree 100%!
I agree with your theory regarding Sark. So, why did Saban hire Kiffin? That happened literally within days of Saben’s agent negotiating a huge extension for him. I imagine Saban’s agent asked him for a favor in return and Kiffin having his offensive “genius” reputation made it all that much easier to say “yes.”
Agents are incredibly powerful in sports. Jordan’s agent was widely considered the most powerful man in the NBA for years.
Interesting, but in Saban’s world, I don’t think it’s the agent that’s important. Saban can have any agent he wants and at a better price if he insists. And I don’t think Saban would ever put his offense in the hands of anyone he didn’t admire and trust. That’s not who he is. He’s my way or the highway and he tells Sexton what to do, not vice versa.
Let’s face it. A lot of people hate the Kiffer around here and for good reason. But a lot of people won’t give him credit for what he obviously deserves. I know him personally and frankly he’s not very appealing. Too self-absorbed, self-important. Likes to use people. Smirky sense-of-humor can be off-putting.
But he’s also smarter, and more creative than people think and always focused as a rifle shot. I predict he’ll do well at FAU and be gone to a big job in three. I’ll also bet Major Applewhite won’t enjoy the same success Kiffin will. Will be very interesting to see who fills out Kiffin’s staff.
Knowing him personally,and that he is not that appealing.What traits allow for his ability to recruit?
He’s very confident and puts in the hours. He’ll go after anybody and doesn’t see the limits some recruiters do – because this guy likes it. He sees recruiting as elemental to his own personal success, not just the team’s. At least that’s how he was at USC.
He’s also not afraid to fail. If you’re around him, you sense he feels he has the advantage. He just exudes it and that persona really works well in some relationships. It works well with recruits because many are attracted to dominant personalities and he’s also good at articulating his vision and how you would fit in it. Plus he’s very young and many recruits like that and the energy it brings.
That same personality doesn’t always work well with assts, and rarely with the press. So he’s got his problems. But he’s a very effective recruiter and also knows what he wants – is a strong evaluator – the other half of the equation.
There’s a reason he keeps getting rehired very quickly, and it’s not just because of his dad and Pete Carroll. I think the jury’s still out on his HCing ability, but that’s why he took the FAU job, This opportunity will define where his career goes. I bet he’s happier than a hog in mud right now.
Thank you.Understand the personality describe..My guess he can be charming with the Mother,and Good guy with the father. Florida, heck the South fits him.
The scrutiny of the press different there.Still intense,but different. 2012-14 extremely difficult for any Coach here.He saw it didn’t sink us.
His few recruits, went a long way.Personally I thank him. Will be interesting to see over next couple years how he has matured.
What’s funny is how someone is so sure the guy with 5 NC is so impressed by Carroll’s 2 he is scooping up Carroll’s old OC’s.
Mixed results?– Kiffin is about to make it 2 out of 3 national championships during his stay at Alabama. Not bad, hey.
And apparently Sark has beat the bottle. Now, I would call that a major personal victory.
Coach O conquered his demons, good for all of them.
Hope Sark doesn’t get his in-season buzz on. At least when meeting with the student-athletes….
Good for Sark. Hope he does well
ACTUALLY HERE IS THE POINT…only Sabans choice matters at BAMA when it concerns football…whether another gets chosen elsewhere has nothing to do with Sabans choice.Start your own football team and hire your choices. BUT I guess some old wounds keep the pain of anothers success ,festering …get over it.
Sark and KIffin and Saban share the same agent — Jimmy Sexton. That’s the key to all this.
Alabama is the rehab for Sexton’s crippled coaches with Saban as the rehab director. The Southern religion and Saban’s discipline are the keys. Hey if it works more power to them.
He’s a drunk, at best a dry drunk, an infidel and a marginal football strategist.
Flagged as a Kiffin Post #4
The flag is up!!
Hey Jeremy Bates, you’re not too far away getting a phone call from Alabama! Wonder if Norm Chow was ever contacted?
From what I’ve heard, and it could be bad news for Sark… working for Saban can lead a person to drink!
If both Kiffen and Sark do well next year what are the odds that SW will be admitted to a sanitarium in a room next to HRC?