With Nick Saban, Pete Carroll stepping away from coaching, Steve Sarkisian says thanks

In a single day, two of the most influential people in Steve Sarkisian's life have moved on from coaching.

The Seahawks announced that coach Pete Carroll would be taking on an advisory role for the team in the morning and in the evening, it was reported that Alabama coach Nick Saban is retiring. The Texas coach has been mentored by both men at different points in his career, and he showed his gratitude to both after their announcements.

Sarkisian spent seven years on Carroll's staff at USC in the 2000s before finally getting his first head coaching job at Washington in 2009. Plenty of what the former USC coach stuck with him, but there's one specific quote that the protégé remembers first when thinking about his old mentor.

“Literally, as I was walking out of the Rose Bowl — we just got done beating Penn State — and he said, ‘Sark, just one last thing: Go be you,’ ” Sarkisian said after being hired by Texas in 2021. “He said, ‘Because at the end of the day, when adversity strikes, the real you is going to come out.’ ”

He took that with him through a rollercoaster ride that included his stint with the Huskies and USC, before alcohol abuse caused him to lose it all. The person who gave him a second chance after his rehabilitation? Saban.

Sarkisian had to talk to Nick's wife Terry and earn her stamp of approval before being hired as an offensive analyst. Their willingness to take a chance on him at the lowest point of his career led to Sarkisian's career renewal and eventual hiring at Texas.

“I think as (the Sabans) got to know me and made that commitment and that willingness to hire me and support me in my own journey, at that point showed me a ton of compassion when others maybe wouldn’t have,” Sarkisian said before facing Alabama in 2022. “I am forever grateful to them for that.”

There, Saban's former assistant would eventually hand the legendary coach the final home loss of his career on Sept. 9. With two of his most critical mentors taking a step back from their legacies, it's time for Sarkisian to continue to craft one of his own in Austin.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Nick Saban, Pete Carroll receive thanks from protégé Steve Sarkisan