The roots from the Nick Saban coaching tree are spread all across the College Football Playoff, which is down to just 8 teams now.
Following wins by Ole Miss (41-10 over Tulane) and Oregon (51-34 over James Madison), the quarterfinal round of the CFP features Alabama and 5 coaches who were, at one point in their respective careers, part of Saban’s Alabama staff.
- Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti: Alabama wide receivers coach, 2007-11
- Georgia head coach Kirby Smart: Alabama defensive backs coach, 2007; defensive coordinator, 2008-15
- Oregon head coach Dan Lanning: Alabama graduate assistant, 2015
- Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding: Alabama defensive coordinator, 2018-22
- Miami head coach Mario Cristobal: Alabama offensive line coach, 2013-16
Ironically, Alabama is coached by someone with no prior experience working with Saban. Nevertheless, Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer has grown plenty familiar with Saban since taking over for him 2 years ago.
Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire are the only other coaches without a tie to Saban in the CFP field. If Miami beats the Buckeyes and Oregon beats the Red Raiders, the semifinal round would exclusively feature teams with some kind of tie to Saban.
Even for the greatest coach in the history of college football, that’s quite the honor.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
