Every time Alabama tees it up in college football these days, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban is squaring off against a former employee.
Alabama has been seeded second in the sport’s second four-team playoff and will face third-seeded Michigan State in a national semifinal at the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve. The 80th playing of the Cotton Bowl will follow an afternoon matchup between top-seeded Clemson and fourth-seeded Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.
The Crimson Tide reached the playoff by winning Saturday’s Southeastern Conference championship game over Florida and coach Jim McElwain, who was Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama from 2008 to ’11. Michigan State is coached by Mark Dantonio, who was Saban’s secondary coach with the Spartans from 1995 to ’99.
Sunday not only featured bowl pairings but hiring announcements, with Georgia naming Kirby Smart its head coach and South Carolina tabbing Will Muschamp for its top job. Smart and Muschamp have been defensive coordinators under Saban, with Smart serving in that role the past seven seasons in Tuscaloosa.
“It always makes me proud and happy for the guys who did a great job for us when they were part of our staff to go on and have success at other places,” Saban said Sunday afternoon. “I’m not the kind of guy who has to dislike my opponent to play well against them. Sometimes respect is a better word, and when you know that somebody is a really good coach and has done a great job for you, it’s easy to respect them.