Rick Neuheisel Names College Football Head Coach With Striking Similarities to Nick Saban

Nick Saban may be three years removed from college football coaching, but his influence is still felt across the sport.

Multitudes of Saban's former assistants at LSU and Alabama now roam the sidelines for college football programs throughout the country. While all of these coaches had the privilege of learning under Saban, few have seen sustained success in their coaching stops after Alabama.

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti is one of the few who have consistently delivered after a stint at Alabama. He won at the Division II, FCS and Group of Six levels before guiding one of college football's annual losers to a national championship victory in 2026.

Cignetti possesses a similar disposition to Saban when roaming the sidelines, but he isn't afraid to flex his muscles in front of the media when given the opportunity. This authenticity caught the attention of former UCLA head coach and current CBS Sports college football analyst Rick Neuheisel, who praised Cignetti on Tuesday.

"It's interesting when you've been on a staff with an icon," Neuheisel said. "He was on Nick Saban's staff, (and) there are so many people who try and go and be Nick Saban when they leave. He's not trying to be Nick Saban, but there are so many things in his personality that are right in line with the way Nick Saban thinks. He is being authentic to himself, and it is resonating and then some."

When did Saban and Cignetti coach together at Alabama?

Curt Cignetti during a 2010 Alabama football practice. — Aug. 7, 2010; LOW RES ONLY - Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Assistant Coach Curt Cignetti during University of Alabama fall football practice Saturday, Aug. 7, 2010 in Tuscaloosa; Mandatory credit: Dusty Compton-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Cignetti was among Saban's earlier disciples in his 17-year tenure at Alabama.

Saban hired Cignetti to his inaugural staff as the Crimson Tide's wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator in 2007. Alabama posted a 43-11 record in the four seasons Cignetti coached in Tuscaloosa, a run that featured a national championship victory in 2009.

Cignetti left Alabama in the 2011 offseason for the head coaching position at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where his father, Frank Cignetti Sr., held the same position from 1986-2005.

Each team in the 2026 College Football Playoff semifinals was coached by a former Saban assistant

Mario Cristobal and Dan Lanning were both on Alabama's staff closer to the middle of Saban's tenure.

Saban hired Cristobal as his offensive line coach following Cristobal's firing from Florida International in the 2013 offseason, and he served on Alabama's staff for four seasons before departing for Oregon. Lanning spent 2015 with the Crimson Tide as a graduate assistant before becoming Memphis' linebackers coach the following season.

Pete Golding came to Alabama in 2018 after serving as UTSA's defensive coordinator for two seasons. Golding spent five seasons as the Crimson Tide's defensive coordinator before taking the same position at Ole Miss in 2023.

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