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Steve Sarkisian leaving Alabama for the Atlanta Falcons

Sam Cooper
·College football writer
Alabama head coach Nick Saban (L) and offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian look on during the team's title loss to Clemson. (Getty)
Alabama head coach Nick Saban (L) and offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian look on during the team’s title loss to Clemson. (Getty)

The Steve Sarkisian era at Alabama was short-lived. Very, very short-lived.

Sarkisian was set to enter his first season as Alabama’s offensive coordinator in 2017. Instead (as first reported by The Huffington Post), he is heading to the NFL to be the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons.

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After his tenure as head coach at USC ended under tumultuous circumstances, Sarkisian landed at Alabama as an offensive analyst in September. When Lane Kiffin accepted the head-coaching gig at Florida Atlantic, it didn’t take long for Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban to promote Sarkisian to Kiffin’s offensive coordinator role.

Kiffin coached in the Tide’s College Football Playoff semifinal win over Washington, but was cast aside ahead of the title game. At that point, Saban gave Sarkisian the keys to the offense for the national title game against Clemson — a 35-31 loss.

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Now the title game will be Sarkisian’s only game as Alabama’s offensive coordinator.

“We appreciate all Coach Sarkisian did for our program during his time here. He is an outstanding coach, and we wish him the best in his new role as Atlanta’s offensive coordinator,” Saban said in a statement. “As always, when we have an opening on our staff, we will use it as an opportunity to go out and hire the best coach available.”

According to SB Nation, after the title game, Saban and Sarkisian had disagreements in meetings about “system philosophy” that were comparable to Saban’s relationship with Kiffin.

Multiple sources have confirmed to SB Nation that after meetings with Alabama head coach Nick Saban following the Championship, the relationship between Saban and Sarkisian deteriorated amid disagreements in “system philosophy,” per one source. Both parties planned to move on following Signing Day last Wednesday, and Saban was aware of Sarkisian’s contact with the Falcons.

In 18 games as USC’s head coach in 2014 and 2015, Sarkisian had a 12-6 record. Before becoming the head coach at USC, Sarkisian spent five seasons as the head coach at Washington and had a 34-29 overall record from 2009-2013. Before becoming a head coach, Sarkisian served as an offensive assistant at USC from 2001-2003 and 2005-2008, first as a quarterbacks coach and then as offensive coordinator.

He does have previous NFL experience. Sarkisian spent a season as the quarterbacks coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2004. Sarkisian has a connection to Falcons head coach Dan Quinn through Seattle Seahawks and former USC head coach Pete Carroll. Before landing the Falcons job, Quinn was Carroll’s defensive coordinator in Seattle while Sarkisian coached under Carroll for many years at USC.

For more Alabama news, visit TideSports.com.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!