Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian has been named the Atlanta Falcons’ next coordinator, the team announced Tuesday. Previous OC Kyle Shanahan accepted the San Francisco 49ers head coaching job after Atlanta lost to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI, for which Shanahan takes a share of the blame.
Sarkisian was named Alabama’s full-time coordinator after the Tide’s victory over Washington in the Peach Bowl semifinal. He took over for Lane Kiffin, who had accepted the head coaching job at FAU. Sark, who joined Alabama’s staff as a consultant at the start of the 2016 season, coached the Tide during their loss to Clemson in the National Championship.
Multiple sources have confirmed to SB Nation that after meetings with Alabama head coach Nick Saban following the Championship, the relationship between Saban and Sarkisian deteriorated amid disagreements in “system philosophy,” per one source. Both parties planned to move on following Signing Day last Wednesday, and Saban was aware of Sarkisian’s contact with the Falcons.
One source described the problems between Sarkisian and Saban as “too similar” to the relationship between Saban and former coordinator Kiffin.
“There was an effort on Saban’s part not to repeat the same problem. This wasn’t going to work out,” a source close to Sarkisian told SB Nation.