Alabama Football: Why Steve Sarkisian is not the right hire for OC

All indications are Steve Sarkisian will be hired as Offensive Coordinator for Alabama football. Sark may not be the best choice. Check out why.

Alabama football coach Nick Saban is expected to name Steve Sarkisian as the new Crimson Tide offensive coordinator. The new hiring has not been officially announced but the news should be released by the University this week.

One possible reason for holding the official release is Sark’s new title. Nick Saban may not have made up his mind on whether the 2019 staff will have a single offensive coordinator or co-OCs as last season. Saban also has to decide on whether to split or combine the QB coach with an OC role.

Based on Sarkisian’s track record as a USC assistant, coaching QBs is one of his strengths. Anyone not remembering, Sark tutored Mark Sanchez, Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. In those USC seasons, the defense-oriented USC head coach, Pete Carroll gave his OCs considerable autonomy. Sark worked under and learned from the respected offensive wizard, Norm Chow.

After reading credible reports Sarkisian would be hired by Saban, we conducted a quick Bama Hammer staff poll on Sark. Sarkisian received positive ratings from the majority of the staff. Ronald Moody penned a strong endorsement.

The minority opinion of Sarkisian not being a good OC choice follows. We also reached out to a knowledgable Atlanta Falcons writer and fan. His response is added to those not rating Sark highly.

Bama Hammer Contributor, Kevin Mudd argued Sarkisian’s head coaching record is proof of being a mediocre coach. That record at Washington and USC was 46-35.

Bama Hammer Contributor, Chris Dodson said,

"It feels like we’re settling. Change may be needed but this isn’t the change I had in mind. I think it might end up putting Alabama in the wrong direction in terms of offensive philosophy vs. the rest of the conference."

Last season the Atlanta Falcons offense finished No. 6 in the NFL despite major offensive line injuries. Our Falcons fan believes the offensive success was in spite of rather than because of Sarkisian.

"He’s got no feel for big-time football and how to coordinate an offensive scheme. Two years ago Sark was handed the league MVP (Ryan) and the top offense in the NFL, and he wasted it. Ryan still had a good season but it had little to do with Sark. Everyone knew the offensive line was an issue for the Falcons this year, yet Sark continued to draw up game plans depending on Ryan dropping back 4-5 steps.He completely underutilized the tight ends, focusing solely on hitting WRs on deep routes for chunk plays."

For the record, the Falcons fan who allowed us to use his comments is also UGA fan. He is quite happy about Sarkisian coming back to Tuscaloosa.

One additional concern about Sarkisian is his relationship with Nick Saban. Sarkisian is known as a low-key guy. There is an old story from years ago when Norm Chow, Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin were on the USC offensive staff. The trio of coaches was meeting with USC QB Matt Leinart. Leinart kept asking questions to Chow and Sarkisian and Kiffin consistently interrupted, trying to answer every question. Chow, another mild-mannered guy, and Sarkisian never quieted Kiffin. Finally Leinart, in frustration, pounded on the table and demanded Lane shut up.

Sarkisian owes Nick Saban who gave him a chance when few others were so inclined. Because of that obligation and his generally cooperative nature, Sark may not push Saban as Lane did. And when it comes to offensive football, Nick Saban may sometimes need to be pushed.

Rest assured, when Steve Sarkisian become an official member of the 2019 Alabama football staff, he will have the full support of Bama Hammer. All of us hope Ronald Moody is correct.