If you follow Alabama football, the names of the 4 head coaches atop the College Football Playoff rankings were all familiar. With Georgia at No. 1, Alabama No. 2, Michigan State No. 3 and Oregon No. 4, the top four teams are all either coached by Saban or one of his former assistants.

In fact, the 3 assistants who are now head coaches of top-4 teams – Kirby Smart (Georgia), Mel Tucker (Michigan State) and Mario Cristobal (Oregon) – were all on Alabama’s 2015 staff. Smart shared his reaction on Wednesday’s SEC media teleconference.

“It’s probably not a coincidence,” Smart said. “A lot of it comes from where you’re coaching at, how fertile a recruiting area it is. When you win, you have people on your staff who get jobs. … A lot of the guys you’re referencing are at really well-established universities that have the opportunity to recruit well and have the support of their administration. … Coach, his influence is a big influence on that. A lot of teams out there have former Alabama assistants on their staff.”