How remaining CFP coaches fared below Saban
Curt Cignetti | Indiana
In a full-circle second, Indiana and head coach Curt Cignetti delivered a 38-3 beatdown of Alabama in Thursday’s Rose Bowl.
Cignetti, who’s 25-2 at Indiana, joined Saban’s first employees at Alabama in 2007 as a large receivers coach. Cignetti was part of the undefeated 2009 Alabama squad that received Saban’s first nationwide championship at UA. After leaving Alabama, Cignetti accepted his first head-coaching place at Division II IUP in 2011.
Dan Lanning | Oregon
Lanning solely spent one season at Alabama as a graduate assistant, but it surely was a memorable marketing campaign. The Crimson Tide made it to the CFP Nationwide Championship in 2015, defeating Clemson 45-40 in an exciting recreation.
Lanning was then an assistant at each Memphis and Georgia earlier than getting his first head-coaching gig at Oregon in 2022. It is protected to say that Lanning, who’s 48-7 at Oregon, has made probably the most of his first head-coaching alternative.
Pete Golding | Ole Miss
The most recent head coach on this listing, Golding, is 2-0 at Ole Miss since taking on for brand spanking new LSU HC Lane Kiffin on Nov. 30. Golding has steered the ship by way of a tumultuous interval, beating Georgia within the Sugar Bowl on Thursday to advance to the CFP semifinal.
Golding joined Saban at Alabama in 2018 and have become the Crimson Tide’s defensive coordinator in 2019. Throughout his time at Alabama, the Crimson Tide received the 2020 nationwide championship — the final for Saban and most up-to-date for Alabama. Golding then joined an SEC rival in Ole Miss in 2023, taking on as head coach following Kiffin’s departure for LSU.
Mario Cristobal | Miami
Cristobal’s path to Tuscaloosa was unorthodox: after being fired from the head-coaching place at FIU, he briefly grew to become an assistant at Miami (FL) earlier than being employed by Saban as assistant head coach, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator.
Cristobal was additionally part of a nationwide championship-winning crew. Alabama received the 2015 nationwide championship with assist from Cristobal’s elite offensive line, which received the 2015 Joe Moore Award for the nation’s finest offensive line.
Saban’s legacy as school soccer’s best head coach extends far past himself, and so long as those that coached below him proceed to succeed, his mark on the game solely grows extra huge.
