There are 4 teams still standing in the College Football Playoff. Though Alabama isn’t one of them, former Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban has his fingerprints all over the field.
Every head coach of the 4 semifinalists — Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, Miami’s Mario Cristobal, and Ole Miss’s Pete Golding — spent time at one point or another on Saban’s staff in Tuscaloosa. Ahead of their matchup at the Peach Bowl, Lanning and Cignetti agreed that they wouldn’t be the same coaches they are today if not for their shared experiences working for Saban.
“I think everybody learned a lot from Nick. … He had it all,” Cignetti said. “I felt like after 1 year with Coach Saban, I had learned more about how to run a program than I maybe did the previous 27 as an assistant coach.”
Curt Cignetti and Dan Lanning were asked about all four HCs left in CFP having been at one point on Nick Saban's staff:Cignetti: "I felt after one year with Coach Saban, I learned more about how to run a program than I maybe did the previous 27 as an assistant coach."Lanning:… pic.twitter.com/gRf83YmWeJ
— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) January 3, 2026Cignetti praised Saban’s attention to detail and, among other things, his ability to combat complacency. Despite tremendous recent success, both Cignetti’s Hoosiers and Lanning’s Ducks remain hungry for more.
Those traits can be traced back to Saban’s Tide.
“I was working at Sam Houston State before I went to Alabama. I was going to take a pay cut to go be a GA there,” Lanning said. “When anybody asked me why, I said I’m going to get my doctorate in football.
“Just like Coach (Cignetti) said, you learn so much. Things I thought I knew, I realized I didn’t really know anything. I got to really carry that over with the opportunity to work with Coach (Kirby) Smart, who built off that as well at Georgia.”
We haven’t seen many coaching trees like the one Saban built. Though, to be fair, we haven’t seen many other coaches like Saban.
Curt Cignetti, Dan Lanning heap praise on Nick Saban for tutelage Saturday Down South.
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