Saban’s Dominance Over His Former Coaches is Legendary, But…

"Dominance," "dynasty," and "unprecedented" are all words used in association with Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban’s coaching process. From his time as the Head Coach of LSU, winning his first National Title in 2003, to winning his seventh Championship in 2020, Nick Saban has had continued success for decades.

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Some of that success though has come at the expense of his former assistant coaches, who have moved on to other positions. Going into the 2023 football season, Nick Saban is 28-2 against his former assistants. The only two former assistant coaches to break the streak are Jimbo Fisher and Kirby Smart.

Texas Coach Steve Sarkisian came close last year, with Bama escaping Austin after a 20-19 victory over the Horns.

Recently, as reported by The Tennessean, Steve Sarkisian made a video appearance at the LSU vs. FSU game. When asked about Saban’s record against his former assistant coaches, Sarkisian offered an unexpected - yet humorous - answer.

"What's the record for all the guys who aren't former assistants against Nick Saban?," Sarkisian asked.

“Every game takes on a life of its own," he continued. "We’ve got to play better than we did a year ago. Clearly, that wasn’t good enough, so we have to make sure we prepare and play better than we did a year ago.”

Nick Saban’s current overall record as Alabama’s Head Coach is 195-27. Alabama kicks off at 6 p.m. Saturday night against the Longhorns here in Tuscaloosa.

The Tide will look for its second win of the season this Saturday to move Coach Saban's record against his former assistants to 29-2.