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Alabama Crimson Tide

What Steve Sarkisian said about leaving Alabama, Nick Saban during intro conference call

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

When the Atlanta Falcons announced Steve Sarkisian as their new offensive coordinator, a report surfaced that the former Crimson Tide play-caller’s decision was influenced by disagreements with coach Nick Saban over system philosophy. On a Thursday conference call with reporters, Sarkisian painted a much different picture of his working relationship with Saban.

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“I couldn’t be more grateful to Coach Saban and everyone at the University of Alabama,” Sarkisian said. “They — it’s a tremendous organization. He’s not only a great coach, but he’s a great man. I’m fortunate that I was able to work with him for the past six months. I’m fortunate to call him a friend. I really appreciate all that he did for me. I was really excited and looking forward to this upcoming season. They’ve got a heck of a football team with some really young and talented players.”

The Tide’s bright future (look for Alabama to be atop many preseason polls in 2017), and the opportunity to continue working with Saban made it difficult for Sarkisian to leave Tuscaloosa, but the opportunity to add NFL offensive coordinator to his resume was too much to pass up.

“The decision to leave – when you get this opportunity, it was something I just couldn’t pass up,” Sarkisian continued. “It was really hard [to leave Alabama]. With all the things you mention and Coach Saban with the opportunity he gave me and what the future looks like there, it was a difficult one. But in this industry, you have to make those tough decisions, and you be respectful for the guy who gave you that opportunity.”

Sarkisian joined Alabama’s staff in September as an offensive analyst. He was promoted to offensive coordinator for the national championship game, taking the place of Lane Kiffin, whose dismissal also led to reports of rumored disagreements. Kiffin and Sarkisian both landed at Alabama after being fired as head coach at Southern Cal.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.

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