Nick Saban Pleased With How Steve Sarkisian, Assistants Have Handled Game Prep for Ohio State
MIAMI — With less than 36 hours remaining until kickoff between the University of Alabama and Ohio State on Monday night, Nick Saban shared his thoughts on how his assistants have handled the preparations for the Buckeyes with some of them juggling the fact that they have either taken a new job or been considered for others.
"I think our coaching staff has done a really good job working with our players," Saban said on Sunday morning. "Sark is the one guy that has shown great maturity, I think, in how he's handled his situation, moving on to be a head coach, which is what he's worked for, and we're happy for him relative to the opportunity that he's created for himself by the great job that he's done for us here."
"But I have no complaints at all with the way our coaches have sort of handled the situation, and I think everybody has sort of -- wants to do the best job that they can for the players so that the players have the best opportunity to have success in the game against a very good team."
Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian has taken the Texas job, while Butch Jones has become Arkansas State's coach. There have been no official announcements for other assistants to leave, but the expectation is Sarkisian could pluck a few coaches away from Alabama.
Jones has taken offensive analyst A.J. Milwee and graduate assistant Andy Kwon with him to Jonesboro as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach and tight ends coach, respectively.
Regardless, the determined focus on solely the Buckeyes is a warm sight for Crimson Tide fans who remember the 44-16 shellacking against Clemson in the 2019 title game, which later that offseason, Saban revealed that his assistants then were dealing with a lot of distractions because of newly acquired jobs.
In 2017, just days before that national championship contest against the Tigers, Lane Kiffin was relieved of his Alabama duties to be the Florida Atlantic coach, which forced Sarkisian to be promoted to an on-field role.
The Crimson Tide lost that game in a nail-biter, 35-31.
"I know this has been a challenging year for all teams in college football, and I think there's a lot of folks out there that we need to thank for making the season be what it is," Saban said ahead of Monday's 7 p.m kickoff versus Ohio State. "I think it's been helpful to the players and the opportunity that they have to compete and play, create value for themselves, as well as a lot of fans who have great interest in college football.
"Our team has gone about this, I think, all year long in a very positive way in terms of trying to take advantage of the opportunities that they've had, and this is obviously a great challenge and a great opportunity for them in this game."
