Nick Saban coaching tree: Five of eight remaining CFP teams coached by a former Alabama assistant

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Nick Saban coaching tree: Five of eight remaining CFP teams coached by a former Alabama assistant originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The 2025 College Football Playoff is down to just eight teams, following a first round that saw Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Tulane and James Madison eliminated in the first four games.

One of those eight teams remaining is the Alabama Crimson Tide, which won its first CFP game since 2022, and first under second-year Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer. DeBoer took over for the legendary Nick Saban after he retired in Jan. 2024.

Although Saban may not be coaching in this year's playoff, his fingerprints are all over several teams remaining. That's because five of the eight head coaches remaining in the playoff have coached under Saban at some point during their careers.

Here's how several of Saban's former assistant coaches ended up in this year's CFP.

MORE:

Alabama's 2015 coaching staff: How Kirby Smart, Dan Lanning and more developed from Nick Saban's stacked team

Kirby Smart, Georgia

Experience: 1999-Present
Head coaching record: 117-20

Kirby Smart had two different stints with Nick Saban. His first came at LSU in 2004, coaching as the Tigers' defensive backs coach. The Tigers were one season removed from a national championship that year, and finished 9-3.

Following a one-year stint with the Miami Dolphins in 2006 under Saban, both coaches returned to the college ranks, this time at Alabama. Smart remained on Crimson Tide's staff from 2007-2015, becoming the team's defensive coordinator in 2008.

Over his seven seasons with Alabama, the Tide won four national championships. Under Smart, the Tide consistently had one of the most dominant defenses in the nation. Smart, known as an excellent recruiter as well, won the 2012 AFCA FBS Assistant Coach of the Year Award. He was made the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football for the 2013 season, leading the Tide to another national championship in 2015.

"I'm not sure anyone can match what Nick Saban has done when it comes to preparing coaches, getting them ready to run their own programs," Smart said earlier this month.

"To me, it's about the mentor aspect of it," Smart added. "Can I call that coach whenever I need to, even if I am now coaching against him in the same conference, with questions or needing advice? That's real influence. And I think that's the relationship we would tell you that we all have with him."

Georgia will take on a familiar opponent in the second round, No. 6 Ole Miss, whom the Dawgs beat 43-35 earlier this season.

Lane Kiffin and Pete Golding, Ole Miss

Kiffin experience: 1997-Present
Kiffin coaching record: 116-53
Golding experience: 2006-Present
Golding coaching record: 1-0

Lane Kiffin isn't coaching Ole Miss during this year's playoff, moving on to take the head coach position at LSU instead. But Kiffin does get some credit for leading the Rebels to this point. The Rebels finished with 11 wins and earned a playoff spot for the first time in school history.

Kiffin was hired by Saban in 2014 as the Tide's offensive coordinator for three seasons. He successfully helped the Tide transition from a run-heavy offense to a passing, read-option style attack. He helped lead Alabama to a national title in 2015, while coaching the likes of Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa. He was a Broyles Award finalist, given out to the nation's best assistant coach every year, in 2014.

As for Pete Golding, he helped secure a CFP victory for the first time in school history with Ole Miss' 41-10 victory over Tulane in the first round. Golding was Alabama's defensive coordinator from 2018-22, helping lead the Tide to a national championship in 2020.

MORE: How Lane Kiffin made $100k with Ole Miss' CFP win over Tulane

Mario Cristobal, Miami

Experience: 1998-Present
Head coaching record: 95-78

Mario Cristobal started his head coaching career at Florida International from 2007-2012, finishing 27-47 at the struggling South Florida program. After he was fired, Saban hired Cristobal, where he served as Alabama's assistant head coach, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator from 2013-2016.

Cristobal helped the Tide win three national titles while he was there. But what Cristobal did as a recruiter was even more impressive, helping Alabama ink No. 1 ranked recruiting classes in 2011 and 2012. He finished as 247Sports' top recruiter in 2015, as well.

As recently as this season, Cristobal bragged about how well he was able to recruit at Alabama under Saban:

Mario Cristobal says he still messes with Nick Saban
"Probably didn't pay me enough for getting him all those players (at Alabama)"https://t.co/R9lgOKBaIa pic.twitter.com/UHfDHbNOQ5
— J.D. PicKell (@jdpickell) September 24, 2025

Cristobal took over as the head coach at Oregon in Jan. 2017.

MORE:Ranking the eight 2025 CFP teams

Dan Lanning, Oregon

Experience: 2008-Present
Head coaching record: 47-7

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning's experience with Saban and Alabama isn't quite as extensive. Lanning had just one season with Saban, coaching on his staff as a graduate assistant for 2015.

Alabama won a national title that season, as Lanning coached with fellow aforementioned guys like Kiffin, Cristobal and Smart. Still, Lanning has talked about the impact learning from Saban has had on him .

"I worked for him for one year, that was it, but it gave me this cheat sheet on every possible situation you can think of," Lanning said in a recent ESPN profile. "No matter what the question is for him, his answer is like a teacher's lesson. 'Dan, when I was faced with this, these were the three things that I did …' He always has that answer. That's a leader."

After his season at Alabama, Lanning went on to coach on staffs at Memphis and Georgia — with Smart — before becoming Oregon's head coach in 2022.

MORE:Revisiting Dan Lanning's D-II college career and position

Curt Cignetti, Indiana

Experience: 1983-Present
Head coaching record: 143-37

Curt Cignetti was part of Nick Saban's first staff at Alabama from 2007-2010. During Nick Saban's first season in Tuscaloosa in 2007, the Tide finished 7-6. In 2008, Alabama went 12-0 in the regular season, falling to Florida in the SEC Championship Game. In 2009, the Tide finished a perfect 14-0, and beat Texas in the BCS title game.

During Cignetti's fourth and final season at Alabama, the Tide finished 10-3 with losses to South Carolina, LSU and Auburn. While at Alabama, Cignetti coached the likes of Julio Jones, who played alongside quarterback Greg McIlroy and running back Mark Ingram.

In 2011, Cignetti voluntarily left Saban's staff to accept a head coaching job at Division II Indiana University at Pennsylvania. Cignetti has spoken about the decision in the past, revealing he didn't want to be an assistant head coach forever.

"We had two kids that were in college, and it was a 60% [pay cut]," Manette Cignetti said. "It's not about the money with me, but it's: How do I make what [the kids] want to do happen?"
She told Curt: "You can't take that job.'"
Saban had a similar reaction. You can get lost down there, he warned. But Cignetti had absorbed enough from the great coaches — Saban, Johnny Majors at Pitt, Frank Sr. — to know he was ready to be one. The pull eventually brought him back to IUP.
"You don't see that move in this business," he said. "I took a chance on me, and I woke up many mornings wondering what I'd done. But I was going to make it work."

In just two seasons, Cignetti has led Indiana to two straight CFPs, including a No. 1 overall seed in this year's field.