When Nick Saban was building the early stages of his dynasty at Alabama football, he had help from a man who is now one of the hottest coaches in the sport. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti was the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator in Tuscaloosa from 2007 through 2011, helping land some of the top players in Crimson Tide history.

Nick Saban recently addressed the speculation surrounding Curt Cignetti's potential future as an NFL head coach.

There are 18 active FBS head coaches that spent time on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama, including the two leading their teams in the College Football Playoff National Championship

Cignetti has had an unprecedented journey throughout his coaching career. After working under Nick Saban for four years at Alabama and winning a national championship in 2009, Cignetti departed from the Crimson Tide to become a head coach for the first time. He moved down to the D2 level to coach the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

College football legend Nick Saban delivers a strong message on Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti ahead of the CFP semifinal.

Alabama was an instrumental part of Curt Cignetti's journey, and he now leads Indiana against the Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl.

Nick Saban knows all four of the head coaches remaining in the College Football Playoff well, and had a great line about what they all learned from him.

Cignetti said he learned more in 1 season with Saban than he did in his previous 27 years as an assistant coach.

All four remaining CFP teams are led by former Nick Saban assistants at Alabama. They all learned how to run a program under the coaching legend.