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Nick Saban has had several notable offensive coordinators in a head coaching career that dates back to 1990.
Big names like Major Applewhite, Jim McElwain and Lane Kiffin are three that come to mind, and all three are currently NCAA head coaches. Mike Mularkey (head coach of Tennessee Titans) and Scott Linehan (current Cowboys OC) also coached under Saban. According to Saban, however, none have been better than current Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher.
Saban paid Fisher an awesome complement during his A-Day post-game press conference:
Saban calls Jimbo the best offensive coordinator he has ever had Pro or at the College level. #Alabama and #FSU face off week 1 in Atlanta.
— Noah Mindel (@noahmindel) April 22, 2017
Fisher was an assistant under Saban during his time at LSU, serving as the OC from 2000-2006 and directing a deadly Tigers’ offense that won the BCS National Championship in 2003. Since then, his resume has only grown, coaching Heisman-winning quarterback Jameis Winston and leading the Noles to a win over Auburn in the final BCS title game in 2013. Outside of Saban, Urban Meyer and Dabo Swinney, Fisher may be the country’s next hottest head coach.
The crazy thing is this: no former Saban assistant has beaten him during his incredible career. Can Fisher become the first?
The duo will meet for the first time as adversaries on September 2 in Atlanta as part of Chick-fil-A Kickoff weekend. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit called the Alabama-FSU game the greatest college football opener ever recently on the Paul Finebaum Show, and the hype continues to build.
If the rankings open as planned, it could be No. 1 vs. No. 2 in what should be one of the most entertaining games of the 2017 season.
A former resident of both Baton Rouge and the heart of Crimson Tide country, Will Ogburn handles multimedia content and news coverage for Saturday Down South.
