Nick Saban's coaching tree: Where do Curt Cignetti, Mario Cristobal rank among former Alabama assistants?

Nick Saban's fingerprints are everywhere in college football. Eighteen current FBS head coaches spent time under him at Alabama -- from graduate assistants to position coaches to coordinators -- and two of them, Curt Cignetti at Indiana and Mario Cristobal at Miami, will face off in this year's College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday night.

It's the first CFP title game to feature a former Saban assistant outside of Kirby Smart, whose Georgia teams already claimed back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022, including a memorable win over their former boss. Saban's influence reaches beyond the familiar names. Coaches like Cignetti and Cristobal are climbing quickly, shaping programs with the same attention to detail they witnessed in Tuscaloosa. Before them, Jimbo Fisher -- who worked under Saban at LSU from 2000-04 -- became the first Saban assistant to reach a national championship game, guiding Florida State to the final BCS title in 2013.

From seasoned veterans to first-time head coaches, Saban's tree has reshaped the landscape of college football. Here's a ranking of the 18 FBS coaches who spent time at Alabama during his legendary tenure.

1. Kirby Smart, Georgia

Putting Kirby Smart at No. 1 is the obvious start. He's the only former Nick Saban assistant to win a national championship as a head coach, and he's done it twice, claiming back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. The first came against Alabama, finally breaking through against his former boss. Since taking over at Georgia in 2016, Smart has built one of the sport's most consistent powers, posting a 117-21 (.848) overall record -- trailing only Ohio State (.871) and Alabama (.864) nationally. Four SEC championships during that span underline the reality: Smart didn't just emerge from the Saban tree -- he's the one everyone else is chasing.

At Alabama: Assistant head coach/defensive backs (2007); defensive coordinator (2008-15)

2. Curt Cignetti, Indiana

There's no recency bias required to place Curt Cignetti this high. His résumé and accomplishments speak for themselves. What he's done at Indiana in just two years is one of the sport's most remarkable turnarounds. The Hoosiers' roster didn't offer much when he arrived -- ranked No. 47 in the 247Sports Team Talent Composite in 2023. Last year it slipped to 57th, and for 2025 it sits at No. 72 -- the third-lowest among Power Four teams. That obviously doesn't matter. Cignetti has turned that roster into one of the most dominant teams of the CFP era, just one win shy of a national championship.

At Alabama: Wide receivers/recruiting coordinator (2007-10)

The intensity that turned Curt Cignetti into an internet sensation

John Talty

3. Dan Lanning, Oregon

At just 39, Dan Lanning's coaching career is still young, but the trajectory is unmistakable. Since arriving at Oregon before the 2022 season, the Ducks are tied for the best record in the FBS -- 48-8 (.857), including 14-8 against AP Top 25 opponents, six of those losses to top-10 teams. Lanning already has a Big Ten Championship and two CFP appearances under his belt, and while the past two seasons ended in lopsided defeats, the program's foundation is strong. With a third-consecutive top-five recruiting class arriving for 2026, Oregon looks positioned for sustained contention under one of the game's most aggressive, young coaches.

At Alabama: Graduate assistant (2015)

4. Mario Cristobal, Miami

If this list had been written before the season, Mario Cristobal likely wouldn't have cracked the top five. That's changed. With Miami on the verge of its first national championship since 2001, Cristobal has finally paired strong recruiting with results. The Hurricanes had just one 10-win season in the 20 years leading into Cristobal's third season at Miami; they've now posted back-to-back double-digit win campaigns under his watch. While Cristobal had success at Oregon, Miami has always been the cleaner fit. The biggest shift has come against elite competition -- after going 8-14 against AP Top 25 opponents in his previous eight seasons as a head coach, Cristobal is 7–0 against ranked teams in 2025. The résumé since he left Alabama still has scars with 11 losses against unranked opponents when in the top 25, but even those lapses haven't stopped Cristobal from reaching this point.

At Alabama: Assistant head coach/offensive line/recruiting coordinator (2013-16)

5. Steve Sarkisian, Texas

Steve Sarkisian's path back to the top wasn't linear, but it's hard to argue with where it's landed. After two stints in Tuscaloosa -- including coordinating one of college football's most efficient offenses in 2020 -- Sarkisian returned to the head coach's chair at Texas in 2021. The rebuild took time, with uneven results his first two seasons, before the Longhorns re-emerged as a national contender. Sarkisian navigated the program's transition from the Big 12 to the SEC almost seamlessly, reaching the conference championship game and the CFP semifinals in Year 1. Although the Longhorns didn't live up to their preseason No. 1 ranking in 2025, they have posted three straight double-digit win seasons for the first time since their 2009 national title game appearance.

At Alabama: Offensive assistant/interim offensive coordinator (2016); offensive coordinator/quarterbacks (2019-20)

6. Lane Kiffin, LSU

College football's most fascinating nomad has been on a steady climb for nearly a decade since he left Alabama. From rebuilding his credibility at Florida Atlantic to elevating Ole Miss into a national factor, Lane Kiffin reestablished himself as one of the sport's most dangerous offensive minds. Even though he departed Oxford before the CFP this season, there's no denying his fingerprints were all over it -- the Rebels won 52 games since the start of the 2021 season, the best five-year stretch in program history. Leaving that stability for LSU was a calculated risk, but Kiffin didn't take the Baton Rouge job to be comfortable. He took it to chase the kind of ceiling he saw up close in Tuscaloosa.

At Alabama: Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks (2014-16)

7. Brent Key, Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech looks closer than it has in years, and Brent Key is the reason. He has guided the Yellow Jackets to three consecutive bowl appearances, capped by a nine-win season in 2025. Coaching his alma mater, Key has restored a physical identity that had been missing, turning Georgia Tech into a team that's increasingly comfortable trading blows with ranked opponents. His 6-8 record against AP Top 25 teams since taking over as interim in October 2022 reflects the progress. The foundation is real, and the trajectory suggests Georgia Tech is finally moving forward again.

At Alabama: Offensive line (2016-18)

8. Pete Golding, Ole Miss

Pete Golding has coached just three games at Ole Miss, all in the CFP, including a win over the man at the top of this list. The Rebels were 18 seconds away from playing for a national championship, falling to Miami on a last-minute score. Expectations were modest after Lane Kiffin's departure, and few would have been surprised by an early postseason exit. Instead of just trying to survive the moment, Golding proved he could command it.

At Alabama: Co-defensive coordinator/inside linebackers (2018-22)

9. Lance Taylor, Western Michigan

Fifteen years after finishing his time as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Lance Taylor landed his first head coaching job at Western Michigan in 2023. By 2025, the results were undeniable. The Broncos won 10 games -- the second-highest single-season total in program history -- captured the MAC title for the first time since 2016, and Taylor was named MAC Coach of the Year. The rapid rise suggests Taylor's trajectory is clearly upward.

At Alabama: Graduate assistant (2007-08)

10. Charles Huff, Memphis

It feels like only a matter of time before Charles Huff earns a Power Four opportunity. Since leaving Alabama after the 2020 season, Huff has posted a 39-25 overall record across four seasons at Marshall and one at Southern Miss -- two programs where success isn't guaranteed. He hasn't missed a bowl game, establishing a steady, no-drama résumé built on development and consistency. That track record earned him the Memphis job for 2026, a step up that will test his ceiling.

At Alabama: Assistant head coach/running backs (2019-20)

11. Billy Napier, James Madison

For a variety of reasons, Billy Napier's time at Florida never clicked. The fit was uneasy, expectations were heavy and momentum never lasted long. A return to the Group of Five at James Madison represents more of a reset than a retreat. Napier thrived in his first head coaching stop at Louisiana, going 40-12 over four seasons and winning back-to-back Sun Belt titles before the move to Gainesville. The résumé suggests a coach better suited to building than chasing, and James Madison gives Napier a chance to reestablish the identity that once made him one of the sport's fastest-rising names.

At Alabama: Analyst (2011); wide receivers (2013-16)

12. Charles Kelly, Jacksonville State

Charles Kelly finally got his shot as a head coach in 2025, and he made the most of it. After three decades as an assistant -- including stops at Georgia Tech, Florida State, Tennessee, Auburn and four seasons on Saban's staff at Alabama -- Kelly returned to the place where it all began. His first college position‑coach role was at Jacksonville State in 1994, and 31 years later he led the Gamecocks to a 9-5 record and a bowl win in his debut season.

At Alabama: Associate defensive coordinator/safeties (2019-22)

13. Alex Mortensen, UAB

There's a very limited sample size for Alex Mortensen. He was an offensive coordinator at UAB for two and a half seasons before taking over as interim coach, leading the Blazers to a 2-4 record, which included a win over then-No. 22 Memphis in his debut. The potential is there if Mortensen can leverage his time at Alabama the way other Saban assistants have.

At Alabama: Graduate assistant (2014-16); analyst (2017-19, 2020-22)

14. Tosh Lupoi, California

Tosh Lupoi returns to his alma mater for his first full head-coaching role after building a reputation as a high-level defensive coordinator. He inherits a program that hasn't won 10 games in a season in 20 years, but early signs are promising: Cal already boasts a top-15 transfer portal haul heading into 2026, with more additions coming.

At Alabama: Defensive assistant (2014-16); outside linebackers (2016); co-defensive coordinator/outside linebackers (2017); defensive coordinator/outside linebackers (2018)

15. Mike Locksley, Maryland

It's easy to forget just how long Mike Locksley has been at Maryland. He's the third-longest tenured coach in the Big Ten, alongside Ohio State's Ryan Day, and the 12th-longest tenured coach in the FBS. The three-year run with Taulia Tagovailoa raised Maryland's ceiling, and competing in the Big Ten East for five seasons came with built-in challenges. Still, expectations shifted once divisions were removed. Instead of a jump, Maryland has posted back-to-back 4-8 seasons, managing just one Big Ten win in each.

At Alabama: Offensive analyst (2016); co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers (2017); offensive coordinator (2018)

16. Major Applewhite, South Alabama

Major Applewhite was Nick Saban's first offensive coordinator at Alabama in 2007, taking on the role at just 28 years old. He left Tuscaloosa after one season, spending the next decade-plus at Texas and Houston before eventually returning to Alabama as an analyst. Applewhite joined South Alabama as offensive coordinator in 2021 and was elevated to head coach in 2024. Across five seasons as a head coach -- including three at Houston from 2016-18 -- Applewhite owns a 26-25 overall record with four bowl appearances. The résumé reflects steadiness more than breakthrough, but his second act is still unfolding.

At Alabama: Offensive coordinator (2007); analyst (2008)

17. Bill O'Brien, Boston College

Like many former head coaches, Bill O'Brien landed at Alabama looking to recalibrate his career. He did his part, overseeing two top-10 scoring offenses in 2021 and 2022 while guiding a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in Bryce Young. The momentum didn't carry over. O'Brien wasn't retained on the New England Patriots' staff after one of the NFL's least productive offenses in 2023, eventually resurfacing at Boston College. He reached a bowl game in his first season in 2024, but the bottom fell out in 2025, when the Eagles won just two games -- matching the program's lowest total in 47 years.

At Alabama: Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks (2021-22)

18. Butch Jones, Arkansas State

Butch Jones has guided Arkansas State to a bowl game in each of the past three seasons, finishing second in the Sun Belt West every year. Sustained success is difficult here -- the program has managed just three double-digit win seasons in 44 years at the FBS level. Jones is clearly working to rebuild his career after a rocky end at Tennessee, and his time as an offensive analyst under Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa for three years shows he's been willing to step back and recalibrate before aiming for another Power Four opportunity.

At Alabama: Offensive Analyst (2018-20)