Alabama Football: 3 keys to win the Iron Bowl vs. Auburn

3 Keys for Alabama football to win the Iron Bowl

2. Steve Sarkisian needs to succeed as the head coach

As always, 2020 threw a monkey wrench into how things were supposed to go. Nick Saban was diagnosed with COVID-19, and he will be unable to coach for Alabama football. Sarkisian will take over, and he needs to do well in charge.

Sarkisian has experience as a head coach, but he hasn’t been the man in charge for years. He also has experience with an abrupt promotion with the Crimson Tide, and that did not work out for Alabama football. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2016 when the Tide lost the national championship game.

In all honesty, not much will change between having Saban and Sarkisian in charge. The game plan has already been put into place. Sarkisian will just make in-game decisions. He will choose when to go for it on fourth down and how to approach time-management. The biggest loss will be not having Nick Saban give a halftime speech to rally the team, but that might not mean enough to matter. At the end of the day, this team should be prepared.

Sarkisian is a competent coach, so he just needs to do what is expected of him against the Auburn Tigers. He has what it takes to lead Alabama football to victory, so he just needs to execute.