Steve Sarkisian announced he was heading to the NFL more than a week ago, and according to Tide Insider, Alabama is ready to name his replacement — New England Patriots tight ends coach Brian Daboll, per Tide Insider.
Daboll was seen as the eventual successor when Josh McDaniels left his position for the Patriots, but apparently Nick Saban has snagged the highly-touted coach.
Daboll worked for Saban as a graduate assistant in the 1990s.
It was reported on Tuesday after the Super Bowl that Sarkisian would be leaving Alabama for the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator position.
According to SB Nation, the move for Sarkisian leaving the Tide had been in the works for nearly a week:
"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."
Sarkisian was promoted to Alabama's offensive coordinator just before this year's national title game, as Lane Kiffin officially left to take the head coaching job at Florida Atlantic. With Sark now gone, Alabama will be on their third offensive coordinator in just over a month.
Daboll is expected to work side-by-side with co-offensive coordinator Mike Locksley.
