The Atlanta Falcons, shaking loose the cobwebs of a most dreadful Super Bowl hangover, are set to replace offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan — the boy genius turned fourth-quarter play-calling goat turned 49ers head coach — with Steve Sarkisian.
You may remember Sarkisian from a scandal that rocked the college football world in 2015, when he was fired as head coach at USC following a series of appearances in which he appeared drunk and disoriented. His alcohol use had been questioned for years.
In announcing Sarkisian’s firing, USC athletic director Pat Haden said, “Through all of this we remain concerned for Steve and hope that it will give him the opportunity to focus on his personal well being.” Sarkisian announced he would be getting unspecified treatment, but said he didn’t believe he had a drinking problem.
Sarkisian, 42, was recruited to Nick Saban’s Alabama staff for the 2016 season as an “offensive analyst” then was unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight when he replaced Lane Kiffin as the play-caller on the eve of the national title game. Sarkisian oversaw a brilliant go-ahead drive by the Crimson Tide in the closing minutes — including a fourth-down conversion and a wide receiver pass — before Alabama lost a heart-breaker to Clemson, 35-31. So the Falcons are set to replace one engineer of championship-game agony with another.
SB Nation reported the relationship between Saban and Sarkisian had frayed after the season amid questions of offensive philosophy and a personal dynamic that began to mirror Saban’s with Kiffin.
Now Sarkisian takes the job with the NFC champs under Dan Quinn. What a remarkable two-year roller-coaster trajectory.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
