Back in his time as an Alabama assistant, no one may have taken more verbal abuse from Nick Saban than current Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin.
The yelling and the dress downs were near legendary as Texas coach Steve Sarkisian recalled this week.
“Lane used to get it very good, I don’t mind saying that. Lane is a good friend of mine. There were a couple I vividly remember,” Sarkisian said, pantomiming Saban’s finger-pointing.
Of course, Sarkisian wasn’t immune either from Saban’s wrath, something that became an interesting side plot with No. 1 Alabama visiting Texas on Saturday. Sarkisian served as Alabama’s offensive coordinator in 2019 and ‘20, helping win a national title the second season.
“I got it too,” Sarkisian said, chuckling about Saban’s rants.
To his way of thinking, Saban’s version of internal tough love is as much a part of being an assistant as receiving national championship rings.
“I think that shaped us,” Sarkisian said. “It’s like players at that point. Part of that is if he’s yelling at you, you probably didn’t reach a standard that he was expecting of you.
“If you’re a guy like me, that’s what drives you. Ultimately you know that this man operates at a very high level, a very high standard and that when you meet his expectations, man, you’re doing something right. And when you don’t, you kind of look in the mirror and say, ‘How can I do it better next time?’”
Asked what he took away most from his time with Saban, Sarkisian hedged a bit before offering an answer.
“I would say discipline,” Sarkisian said. “And I’m not saying disciplining of the players, I’m saying self-discipline. He’s a very regimented man. He knows his routine, he stays disciplined in his routine. And then he, he has expectation and his staff and his players are going to have that same discipline approach off the field and on the field.”
You won’t hear any harsh words about Saban from Sarkisian unlike some other former Saban assistants. Saban helped Sarkisian resurrect his career after his 2015 firing at USC amidst reports of alcohol-related incidents.
An analyst gig in 2016 led to two years with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons as offensive coordinator before a return to Alabama as OC in 2019.
In some ways, Sarkisian has tried to bring the lessons he learned Saban to Austin. It’s not exactly Alabama West just yet, but there are lot of ties.
Four of Saban’s assistants came with Sarkisian — Jeff Banks, Bo Davis, Kyle Flood and AJ Milwee. Sarkisian also has brought in three Crimson Tide transfers in running back Keilan Robinson, tight end Jahleel Billingsley and receiver Agiye Hall. Although each was a top recruit, none has made a great impact at Texas yet. Hall just finished a brief team suspension while Billingsley is serving a six-game NCAA suspension from time at Alabama.
Each has become valuable this week, teammates said.
“They’ve been helpful in telling us what certain guys like to do and things like that,” linebacker DeMarvion Overshown said.
More importantly, Sarkisian is still calling plays at Texas, running the same offense he did at Alabama. He also knows Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding from their time on the Crimson Tide staff.
“Having [Sarkisian[ understand that defensive coordinator and what they run and how they run it really helps us a lot because our scheme is predicated on whatever they do,” standout running back Bijan Robinson said.
Then again, who knows how much of an advantage Texas will have with all the inside knowledge.
Alabama is still Alabama and Saban was 25-0 against former assistants before losing last season to Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher and Georgia’s Kirby Smart.
Saban seemed a little peeved when Alabama reporters questioned him about facing a coaching staff that knows him so well.
“Well, we seem to play several teams now that kind of know us,” Saban said. “But you act like we don’t know them. Just because somebody knows you when you play doesn’t mean they’re going to beat you.”
