Alabama OC now with Falcons

Associated Press

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga.

After only one game as Alabama’s offensive coordinator, Steve Sarkisian is heading to the NFL.

To work with MVP quarterback Matt Ryan and the league’s highest-scoring offense, no less.

Less than 24 hours after Kyle Shanahan left to become head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, the Falcons announced Tuesday that Sarkisian would be his replacement.

The stunning move came with Sarkisian less than a month into what was to be his first full season running Alabama’s offense, a job he took over for the national championship game in place of Lane Kiffin.

But Falcons coach Dan Quinn said he’s had his eye on Sarkisian since last spring, figuring it was only a matter of time before Shanahan moved on to a team of his own.

“I knew how good Kyle is,” Quinn said.

“I wanted to make sure I had contingency plans in place.”

The two have known each other since Sarkisian coached at Washington and Quinn was Seattle’s defensive coordinator.

Even though Sarkisian has only one year of pro experience, Quinn expects a smooth transition for the new coordinator, who is familiar with many of the wide zone blocking schemes that worked so well for Atlanta on its way to the Super Bowl.

“We love the way we attack,” Quinn said.

“It took a lot of work to put that system in place. We have a real emphasis on the personnel and how we can feature the guys in that system. So it’s very important that we stay consistent with that.”

Sarkisian will certainly have plenty of weapons at his disposal.

In addition to five years as Washington’s coach, the 42-year-old Sarkisian held the same job at Southern Cal.

But he was fired by the Trojans during the 2015 season when officials said he showed up in no condition to lead practice following an embarrassing public display at a pep rally where he appeared to be intoxicated.

He later sought treatment for alcoholism.

Quinn said he has no concerns about Sarkisian’s personal life.

“We went through the process, obviously, to check and make sure everything would align with our organization, in terms of cultures and values,” Quinn said.

“He’s done a fantastic job. There were zero hesitations, zero limitations.”

Sarkisian spent most of last season as an offensive analyst for Alabama. When Kiffin was hired as the head coach at Florida Atlantic, Sarkisian was designated as his replacement.

He took over for the title game against Clemson, with only a week to prepare.

Quinn said he spoke with Saban on Monday about his interest in hiring Sarkisian.

An agreement was quickly reached.