The Mountain State has long punched above its weight, producing college football legends. Nick Saban, with a record seven National Championships, sits atop the list. Lou Holtz (Follansbee, WV) led Notre Dame to a perfect 12-0 season in 1988, culminating in a Fiesta Bowl victory over third-ranked WVU for the national title. Jimbo Fisher (Clarksburg, WV) led Florida State to an undefeated national championship in 2013. Even Rich Rodriguez (Grant Town, WV), current WVU head coach, has the home-state grit widely associated with West Virginia.
The most recent coach to make a splash in college football also hails from West Virginia and is a member of Saban’s coaching tree. Curt Cignetti won the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 19, over Miami, securing Indiana’s first national title. This record 16-0 season cements Cignetti as the newest branch of Saban’s legendary coaching tree, with deep West Virginia roots tying it all together. Read more: Nick Saban’s Mountain State coaching tree and the rise of Curt Cignetti.
Nick Saban’s Mountain State coaching tree and the rise of Curt Cignetti
Nick Saban was born in Fairmont, WV, and attended Monongah High School, where he played quarterback. He helped lead them to a 1968 Class A state title in his senior year. That was his first taste of victory, but it certainly was not his last. Saban went on to win seven National Championships, the most of any head coach.
Related: Curt Cignetti’s Morgantown origins
His coaching journey began at Kent State as a graduate assistant, followed by several stops as an assistant coach elsewhere. He returned home in 1978 as defensive backs coach for WVU under head coach Frank Cignetti Sr., Curt Cignetti’s father, who hired Saban during his final two seasons as head coach.
Saban is one of the best, if not the best, coaches in college football history. He won National Championships with two different programs and finished with a 297-71-1 record. His legacy lives on through his coaching tree and how he prepared coaches to run their own programs.
18 active FBS head coaches coached under Saban, including national title game coaches Cignetti and Cristobal. Twelve teams were in the College Football Playoff, and five of those teams are led by former Saban assistants. All five were ranked in the top nine seeds, and four of the top six. Saban’s impact in the modern era is unmatched, even after retirement.
Jimbo Fisher: Another Mountain State branch
Jimbo Fisher grew up in West Virginia before going to Clemson to play baseball. That did not last long, and he returned to Salem College (now Salem University) to play quarterback under head coach Terry Bowden. He finished his collegiate playing career at Samford under Bowden and was hired as a graduate assistant in 1988.
Fisher joined Saban’s staff at LSU in 2000 as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. He helped Saban win his first national title with LSU in 2003, and later went on to win a title as head coach of Florida State in 2013.
Curt Cignetti: From Morgantown to triumph
Curt Cignetti has a full-circle story regarding Nick Saban. He was raised in Morgantown after his father joined Bobby Bowden’s staff at WVU in 1970 and became head coach in 1976. His father hired Saban as an assistant at WVU in 1978, and Curt played quarterback for the school the following season, 1979. Young Curt Cignetti practiced against Saban’s defensive backs unit, which was his first taste of the intensity that would define both men’s careers.
Cignetti’s and Saban’s connection did not end there, as Cignetti coached under Saban at Alabama. Saban hired Cignetti as part of his inaugural coaching staff at Alabama in 2007. Cignetti was the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, serving through 2010. Saban paid it forward and returned the favor of Frank Cignetti Sr. by hiring his son, which was monumental for Curt’s career.
“He’s not coached a game in nearly two years, and I think his influence has only grown since then,” Curt Cignetti said. “I can’t speak for 150 years of college football history, who all worked for Bear Bryant or Knute Rockne or those guys. But there’s certainly zero argument about Nick Saban’s impact in the here and now.”
Cignetti has transformed the Hoosiers from perennial underachievers into a 27-2 team over the past two seasons, with a perfect 16-0 season in 2025, a Big Ten title, and a national championship. Saban’s Mountain State roots and coaching tree endure, even as college football evolves. Yet another disciple of the Saban coaching tree has lifted the trophy and added to his Mountain State legacy.
