SABAN HIRES SARKISIAN

SABAN HIRES SARKISIAN

Courtesy UA Media Relations

University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban announced the hiring of Steve Sarkisian on Friday. Sarkisian will serve as Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

“We are pleased to be able to hire an offensive coordinator with the pedigree and experience of Steve Sarkisian,” Saban said. “He has a tremendous offensive mind and is someone we believe will do a great job of teaching and developing our football team on the offensive side of the ball. He has been a great asset to our coaching staff this season and brings a great deal of energy and enthusiasm to his job. Steve will be a phenomenal addition to our coaching staff and someone who can seamlessly transition into the job with a full understanding of how our organization works.”

Sarkisian spent the 2016 season on the Crimson Tide’s staff as an analyst. Prior to that he served as the head coach at the University of Southern California from 2014-15 and the head coach at the University of Washington from 2009-13.

“I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to join Coach Saban’s staff, and I can’t thank The University of Alabama enough,” Sarkisian said. “I have always admired the Alabama program from afar and getting to be part of this football team these past few months has only reinforced my belief that this is the best college football organization in the country. There are many outstanding coaches and athletes at The University of Alabama, and I am extremely excited to start working with them in my new role. This is a very special place to have the opportunity to coach when you consider the program’s rich tradition and the unrivaled passion of the fan base.”

During his time as head coach at Southern California, Sarkisian led the Trojans to a 12-6 overall record including a second-place finish in the Pac-12’s Southern Division in 2014. His 2014 offense at USC ranked in the top 25 nationally in passing offense, passing efficiency, third down conversions and scoring offense.

At Washington, Sarkisian inherited a program in 2009 that had won just 12 games during the previous five seasons, including going winless the year before he took over. Despite that challenge, he guided the Huskies to bowl games his last four seasons. His eight victories in 2013 were the most at UW since 2000. His overall Washington record was 34-29.

Sarkisian arrived at Southern California in 2001 and took over as the quarterbacks coach in 2002, where he tutored quarterback Carson Palmer to the Heisman Trophy and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. After spending the 2004 season as the quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders, Sarkisian returned to the Trojan staff in February of 2005 as the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach for four seasons (2005-08). He added the offensive coordinator role to his duties in 2007 and 2008 at USC.

He has two daughters, Ashley and Taylor, and a son, Brady.

All such employment contracts are subject to approval by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.