This isn't Nick Saban's first rodeo when it comes to preparing for a national championship game with an Alabama coordinator who has accepted a head-coaching opportunity elsewhere.
It's actually the sixth, with Jim McElwain (who left for Colorado State), Kirby Smart (Georgia), Lane Kiffin (Florida Atlantic), Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee) and Mike Locksley (Maryland) having experienced what Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is going through after being introduced this past Saturday as the new Texas coach. Sarkisian has guided the most efficient offense in program history and will do so one final time Monday night when No. 1 Alabama faces No. 3 Ohio State at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
"We've had several of these situations where we've been playing in the national championship game with guys who are getting head-coaching jobs someplace else," Saban said Monday afternoon on a Zoom call. "I think it's up to each individual, and I went through it when I became the head coach at Michigan State and was the defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns with Bill Belichick. We had like five or six games left to play in the season and had a chance to get to the playoffs, which we did.
"You just have to separate yourself and focus on - look, if it wasn't for the players on the Cleveland Browns and that defense, I probably would have never gotten the Michigan State job, so you kind of owe it to the players to give your best to do your best to help them get prepared for the game so that they can play well."
The Crimson Tide won national championship games before McElwain, Smart and Pruitt immediately left for other jobs, but the last game with Locksley as offensive coordinator was the 44-16 loss to Clemson in the title contest of the 2018 season. Saban parted ways with Kiffin after the national semifinal Peach Bowl win over Washington that followed the 2016 season, which resulted in Sarkisian getting bumped up from an offensive analyst to the play-calling role.
Sarkisian was set to be Alabama's offensive coordinator in 2017 but abruptly left for the same job with the Atlanta Falcons, which he held for two seasons before returning to Tuscaloosa. His Crimson Tide offenses scored at least 35 points in 24 consecutive contests, a streak that ended with last Friday's 31-14 defeat of Notre Dame in the national semifinal Rose Bowl.
Quarterback Mac Jones, running back Najee Harris and receiver DeVonta Smith headline an Alabama offense that has averaged 535.0 yards and 48.2 points per game against 11 Southeastern Conference foes and the Fighting Irish. All three have finished among the top five in the Heisman Trophy balloting, and Sarkisian was named last week as the winner of the Broyles Award, which goes to college football's top assistant coach.
"Sark has done a marvelous job here," Saban said. "He is very well-organized and works well with all the people in the organization - players and coaches alike. He's a good play-caller on game day, and he does a really good job of preparing the players for each and every game. He's just done a great job, and he's been a real asset for our organization, and I think he'll be very successful as a head coach."
Said Smith: "Everybody is happy for Coach Sark, and that's part of the business. He's going to be here with us throughout this last game, and we're just trying to finish things the right way."
Heisman looms
Smith is expected to win the Heisman, which will be awarded tonight via a virtual ceremony that will be televised by ESPN, but neither he nor Jones have been up for much discussion about college football's top individual award.
"Right now, I'm not really worried about the Heisman Trophy," Smith said Monday. "I'm just looking forward to coming in with the team this week and getting into the game plan for Ohio State."
It's different among their teammates.
"They're probably not as excited as we are," junior cornerback Patrick Surtain said. "As a team, we're very excited for them. They deserve it, and whoever wins it, we're going to be happy for them.
"Going against those guys every day makes me better as a player. Going against guys like that makes you 100 times better on game day."
Saban's ballot
Much was made before Ohio State's 49-28 thumping of Clemson in last Friday night's national semifinal Sugar Bowl about Tigers coach Dabo Swinney voting the Buckeyes 11th after the conference championship games. Saban, incidentally, voted Ohio State fifth, one spot behind Texas A&M.
"Until you just said that, I wasn't aware," Ohio State coch Ryan Day said. "I don't look at those things too much. We respect everybody's opinion, but what matters is playing in the game."
A pricey ticket
With only 16,000 spectators expected Monday night in Miami Gardens, tickets are expected to be a hot commodity. According to TicketIQ, the average price for a ticket is $2,433, which ranks fourth for tickets to a college football championship game.
The top three averages have been Alabama's win over Georgia in the title contest of the 2017 season ($4,040), Auburn's win over Oregon after the 2010 season ($2,992), and Clemson's win over Alabama after the 2016 season ($2,898).
Tide tidbits
Jones, who has set an Alabama single-season record with 4,036 passing yards and leads the nation in efficiency, was named Monday as the winner of the Johnny Unitas Award. He is the third Crimson Tide quarterback to claim that honor, joining Jay Barker (1994) and AJ McCarron (2013). Alabama's offensive line, which has allowed just nine sacks of Jones in 379 drop-back opportunities, received the Joe Moore Award, which was introduced in 2015, for a second time.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.