Steve Sarkisian will become the next offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons.
The team announced Tuesday both sides had agreed to a deal.
He will take over for Kyle Shanahan, who was hired the previous day as the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers.
Sarkisian, the former USC head coach, had been promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Alabama in December after three months on staff as an offensive analyst, replacing Lane Kiffin.
Prior to the College Football Playoff national championship game in January against Clemson, Kiffin left to begin his tenure as the Florida Atlantic head coach, allowing Sarkisian to assume his duties full-time.
In Sarkisian’s one game directing the offense, the Crimson Tide lost, 35-31, in the final seconds.
He enters a promising situation in Atlanta.
The Falcons boasted the NFL’s top scoring offense last season, led by MVP-winning quarterback Matt Ryan, and reached their first Super Bowl. However, they fell in overtime Sunday to the New England Patriots, 34-28, despite mounting a 28-3 lead in the third quarter.
ESPN reported Tuesday that Sarkisian had developed a relationship with Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn while visiting the team during training camp last year.
It marked another step in Sarkisian’s public makeover over the past 16 months.
Sarkisian, 42, was fired by USC midway through the 2015 season after a series of alcohol-related incidents and other behavior. He was 12-6 in less than two seasons with the Trojans.
After his dismissal, he reportedly checked into rehab.
Shortly after, Sarkisian filed a multi-million dollar wrongful termination lawsuit against USC, alleging he was not allowed to seek treatment for alcoholism. In the suit’s complaint, he said he was on a flight to an alcohol treatment facility Oct. 12 when he was fired by Pat Haden, then the university’s athletic director.
He was also Washington’s head coach from 2009-13 and previously spent several seasons as an assistant on Pete Carroll’s staff at USC, including a stint as the offensive coordinator from 2007-08.
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