Nick Saban's Coaching Tree: Which prominent coaches have flourished under his tutelage?
The Nick Saban coaching tree is the single greatest achievement of his legendary 50-plus-year career.
Not his seven national championships.
Not his 10 SEC championships.
Not the three Heisman trophy winners.
Not his 44 first-round picks (but it’s close) compared to just 27 losses at Alabama.
Nick Saban has more first round Draft picks than losses 😲 https://t.co/gCSIUXBtIB
Nope. Nick Saban has produced far more head coaches than any coach in the history of football. Not only has he produced the most, but they have also produced where they went.
Nick Saban's coaching tree isn’t just a list of names. It is a who's who. We will break down his biggest and most prominent assistants but before.
Here are a few that aren't discussed in depth in this article:
Charles Huff, Marshall head coach
Mark D’Antonio, former Michigan State head coach
Will Muschamp, two-time head coach, now Georgia co-defensive coordinator
Jim McElwain, ex-Florida head coach
Billy Napier, Florida head coach
Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys head coach
Marco Cristobal, Miami head coach
Mike Locksley, Maryland head coach
Curt Cignetti, James Madison head coach
Mel Tucker, Michigan State head coach
Butch Jones, Arkansas State head coach
Nick Saban coaching tree: Careers and records
Saban has been a head coach for 26 seasons, compiling a 274-67-1 record at a winning percentage of 80%.
He’s been a head coach for four universities (Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama) and had a short stint in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins. Saban has won seven national titles, including one at LSU, along with 10 SEC titles.
But, again, Nick Saban's biggest impact has been the spiderweb-like branches that have bloomed from his coaching tree. Here are some of the biggest names in college football that he has produced:
Kirby Smart, head coach, University of Georgia
Kirby followed him to the Dolphins in 2006 and then immediately became his assistant head coach and defensive backs coach at Alabama when Saban was hired in 2007.
They stayed together for eight seasons, enjoying unprecedented success for either. Alabama won three national titles. In 2015, Kirby Smart left Alabama for his alma mater, the Georgia Bulldogs.
From that moment on, the two became friendly rivals. Saban beat Kirby in their first meeting for a national championship in 2017.
It wasn’t until 2021 that Kirby finally broke the Saban assistant curse, winning his first national championship as a head coach in the process.
Now some might say that the student has become the teacher, with the Kirby Smart-led Georgia Bulldogs winning back-to-back national championships.
Jimbo Fisher, head coach, Florida State and Texas A&M
Jimbo Fisher was Nick Saban's offensive coordinator for the 2003 national championship LSU Tigers. Fisher stayed with the Tigers until legendary head coach Bobby Bowden came calling from Florida State.
Fisher left to be the head coach in waiting at Florida State, which only took three seasons. Florida State rose back to prominence under Fisher, as, in 2013, he became the first assistant from the Nick Saban coaching tree to win a national championship. After seven years at Florida State, Jimbo left for a megadeal at Texas A&M.
Since then, the two have become verbal sparring partners. Saban has claimed Fisher bought his No. 1 recruiting class. Fisher shot back, calling Saban a narcissist. The bad blood probably gets murkier when Bama and Texas A&M play yearly.
Lane Kiffin
The first coach ever to go through the Nick Saban “coaching car wash” factory in Alabama was Lane Kiffin. Hen was coming off back-to-back failed head-coaching ventures at USC and Tennessee.
It wasn’t all one-sided though. Lane Kiffin completely changed Saban’s point of view on offense in modern college football.
For years, Saban refused to utilize shotgun sets and RPO-based offenses, claiming they were bad for the game. With Lane Kiffin as an offensive play caller, the Alabama Crimson Tide reached scoring success they had never seen.
Not only did they become the most dangerous offense in football, but Kiffin also helped Saban win another national title at Bama.
After years of success working together, Kiffin was primed for another shot at being a head coach. He left Alabama for Florida Atlantic.
Just two seasons after leaving for FAU, the cycle was complete. Lane Kiffin was hired as the Ole Miss head coach, becoming another student who Saban would have to face annually.
Steve Sarkisian
The current Texas Longhorns head coach has had a long road to this point. Nick Saban has played a significant part in it. Sarkisian's alcohol issues led to his dismissal as USC head coach.
Just a year later, Nick Saban came calling to offer Sarkisian a role as an Alabama analyst. When Kiffin took the FAU job, Saban didn’t have to search long to find his replacement.
During his stint as Alabama offensive coordinator, Steve Sarkisian coached Mac Jones, Tua Tagovailoa and Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith. In 2020 he was awarded the Broyles Award, given to the nation's top assistant.
Like Kiffin before, his reputation had been repaired. After just two seasons as the Alabama OC, Steve Sarkisian was hired to be the head coach at the University of Texas.
And just like his other assistants before him, Saban had to face Steve Sarkisian this past season in one of 2022's best games. Their rematch comes in week three of the 2023 season.