Steve Sarkisian Talks Preparing For National Championship Amid New Texas Job

Steve Sarkisian may be the new head coach of the Texas Longhorns, but his focus remains with the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Alabama offensive coordinator made it clear in his opening press conference with Texas that he would finish the job with the No.1 CFB Playoff seed before heading to Austin.

"I'm going to stay with Alabama here for another week until we get through the National Championship game. Which I think is the right thing to do. I made a commitment to Coach Saban and to these players and to see that through and the championship game. And then directly after that I will be in Austin." (Sarkisian)

With just six days left of preparation until Ohio State and Alabama meet in Miami to battle for the national title, Sarkisian's time has been split between preparing for the National Championship and new Texas gig.

“Quite honestly, my week for me would be a normal game week as if I hadn’t taken the Texas job. My focus is on the game. I’m prepping for the ballgame. Any of the spare time that I do have, that’s getting my attention for the job at Texas, whether that’s staffing or recruiting, things of that nature.

But I would say my week has been as normal as it could be, and has been, of game planning and prepping for the ballgame” said Sarkisian Wednesday in a CFP Zoom session.

As Sarkisian navigates this next week ahead, his focus remains being present for Nick Saban and Alabama's football team.

Back in 2016, Coach Saban named former USC head coach Steve Sarkisian as Alabama offensive coordinator and play-caller for the title game against Clemson. Sarkisian replaced 2016 offensive coordinator and former USC head coach Lane Kiffin, after coming on as an analyst following his dismissal from the Trojans in 2015.

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Kiffin was hired as the head coach for Florida Atlantic University prior to the 2016 National Championship game, and although his intentions were to see his time at Alabama through, that didn't necessarily happen.

Sarkisian recounted the transition during Wednesday's press conference.

"I think Lane [Kiffin] was a tremendous offensive coordinator, I thought we worked well together in 2016, we still definitely stay connected. He had a really good offensive year at Ole Miss this past season, so you know the guys really good we worked well together. I obviously took some things away from that, that I think have helped my career and will continue to. And at the end of the day I'm excited about the opportunity to go to Texas but my focus is on this ballgame."

The National Championship will take place next Monday, January 11th at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. FanDuel currently has the Crimson Tide as the favorite to win the national title.

Moneyline: OSU: (+205) | BAMA: (-260)
Spread: OSU: +6.5 (-102) | BAMA: -6.5 (-120)
Total: 75.5 – Over: (-114) | Under: (-106)

[READ: Three Things Texas Is Getting In Steve Sarkisian]

[READ: Sarkisian's Statement Following Texas Head Coach Hire]

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