When Colin Cowherd made his thoughts clear on who’s the better coach between Steve Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin

Steve Sarkisian was appointed Alabama's interim offensive coordinator ahead of the national championship game against Clemson in 2017. This was after Nick Saban parted ways with Lane Kiffin as the offensive coordinator after taking the FAU head coaching job.

Ahead of the title game, Colin Cowherd reacted to a claim by Alabama wide receiver comparing the offense under Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian. Speaking on a January 2017 episode of “The Herd,” Cowherd made it clear who he feels is a better coach between the two.

“Calvin Ridley, a very, very good player for Alabama, says that Alabama is running smoother with Steve Sarkisian as offensive coordinator than they ran with Lane Kiffin as offensive coordinator," Cowherd said. "Well, let me just say this, Sark is a better coach. Sark is absolutely a better coach.”

“Lane Kiffin is a very good coordinator. Sark's a good coordinator and was a good coach. Don't kid yourself. That USC team that just won nine straight games – Sam Darnold, that was Sark's guy. That team is Sark's players. He put together the best recruiting class in the history of USC. It was better than the Reggie Bush-Pete Carroll class.”

Alabama lost the championship game 35-31 to Clemson at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. However, Sarkisian's offensive brilliance was evident in the encounter. The coach left the Crimson Tide to take an offensive coordinator job with the Atlanta Falcons.

Colin Cowherd details what Steve Sarkisian achieved at Washington

Before taking the USC head coaching job and an analyst role at Alabama, Steve Sarkisian served as a head coach at Washington. He inherited a struggling program and steadily transformed the Huskies into a force within the Pac-12. Cowherd reflected on it on his show.

"He went to Washington, they were 0-12 with two decent NFL players (before his arrival),". The following year, they were 4-5 in conference. The following year, they won the Holiday “freaking” Bowl. 0-12, they had lost all their California recruiting ties. All of them. They couldn't go into California.”

“He takes over the first year from 0-12. It's almost impossible to go 0-12 in a big conference. The next year, they were almost 500 in the Pac-12. The next year, they won the Holiday Bowl. And four of their six losses were to ranked teams. And then he leaves; they won nine games last year. It's all full of NFL bodies.”

Steve Sarkisian’s brilliance as a football coach became more evident when he left Alabama for the second time in 2021 to take the Texas head coaching job. The coach has transformed the Longhorns into a contender in the landscape.