Does a new head coach’s first staff matter?

After 2023, Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh left, and Alabama and Michigan fans worried a lot about assistant coach hires made by their successors. It got Alex thinking: Do national championship head coaches ace their assistant hires out of the gate? What happens when they mess up the important work of filling out a coaching staff? SZD goes through 25 years of history in a quest to figure out if a coach can win a national championship without acing his first test. Production: Anthony Vito. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe