Nick Saban looking for his sixth offensive coordinator in eight seasons after latest departure

It's not a bad thing that assistant coaches don't stay long at Alabama. It's just another data point on the undisputedly true chart that suggests Nick Saban is the greatest college football coach of all time. His assistants oftentimes go on to bigger and better things almost through osmosis. 

They get opportunities just because they know the guy.

The latest in that category is Bill O'Brien, who had already made somewhat of a name for himself as a college and NFL head coach before ending up in Tuscaloosa as offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide for the past two seasons.

O'Brien is heading back to the NFL where he really made a name for himself as offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots in 2011. That run in New England earned him a shot at Penn State as head coach and then with the Houston Texans, where he was head coach from 2014-2019 as well as the head coach/general manager in 2020.

Things didn't end great in Houston for O'Brien, but he's "rehabbed" his coaching image over the past two seasons at Alabama. He undoubtedly benefited from such a close association with Saban — the seven-time national champion.

Change of coordinators is nothing new at Alabama, and as long as Saban is at the wheel of the program, there's a good chance the Tide will be College Football Playoff contenders on a yearly basis.

Still, it's wild to think about just how much change the Tide deals with on a year-in, year-out basis. Keep in mind Alabama will also have to replace defensive coordinator Pete Golding, who took the same job at Ole Miss.

This will be the fifth time in Saban's time at Alabama that he will have to replace both coordinators at once. This will be the sixth time Saban will have to search for a new offensive coordinator in the past eight seasons.

Saban's offensive coordinators since 2007 are as follows: Major Applewhite (two seasons), Jim McElwain (four seasons), Doug Nussmeier (two seasons), Lane Kiffin (three seasons), Brian Daboll (one season), Mike Locksley (one season), Steve Sarkisian (two seasons) and O'Brien.

McElwain (Central Michigan), Kiffin (Ole Miss), Daboll (New York Giants), Locksley (Maryland) and Sarkisian (Texas) are all currently head coaches.