Kiffin out early at ’Bama
Offensive coordinator abruptly fired before title game
To understand what a massive mess Lane Kiffin has left on his way to Boca Raton, Fla., with Nick Saban on the cusp of his sixth national title, it’s worth considering one of his trademark phrases that explains Alabama’s robotic, monotonous greatness.
Listen to Saban long enough, and you’ll understand that external factors are all that can derail him because his program is built to withstand everything else. It’s the randomness, the uncontrollable forces that keep Saban perpetually on edge, and his fight to limit them is built into every aspect of the program.
So given everything we know about Saban’s disdain for external factors, his decision to part ways with Kiffin now — a week before Alabama plays Clemson for the College Football Playoff championship — is nothing short of stunning.
For all the innuendo about their broken behind-the-scenes relationship, for all the snide comments Kiffin made in front of the media last week, for all the rage Saban displayed at Alabama’s disjointed offensive performance against Washington and for all the natural distractions that would come along with another round of Kiffin story lines in Tampa, the best coach in the history of college football has decided that a new
set of external factors is preferable to the one he has been dealing with.
Though some will try to spin this as no big deal for a program that has won 26 consecutive games, it is a massive gamble that could easily cost Alabama the championship.
It’s also an admission from Saban that the offense Alabama displayed in the Peach Bowl, which was too cute by half in its approach and too disjointed in its execution, wasn’t good enough to get the job done against Deshaun Watson and Co.
There are no shortage of reasons why this is a massive risk, even for Alabama.
For one, Steve Sarkisian, Kiffin’s replacement, hasn’t been the primary play-caller since the 2014 season, ceding those duties at Southern California to Clay Helton at the start of 2015. Though Sarkisian has plenty of experience calling plays, there’s a rhythm and flow to it he hasn’t felt for more than two years and will suddenly have to do it under immense pressure with an offense that isn’t his own.
Second, and perhaps of greater concern for Alabama, is the impact on the players and freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts. The voice Hurts has heard all season at practice, in meetings and in between series during the heat of the game is changing. The habits and the flow of communication that built all season, the shorthand between an offensive coordinator and his quarterback, has become subject to variance that Saban surely did not want.
If this was part of some grand plan, Saban would have made this move after the Southeastern Conference championship game. Though defensive coordinator Kirby Smart coached through the playoffs last year during his transition to Georgia, nobody would have batted an eye had Saban said good riddance to Kiffin the moment he took the job at Florida Atlantic.
Even if it wasn’t ideal, it would have given Sarkisian — who joined Alabama as a non-coaching analyst in September — nearly a month to get used to having the controls again.
So for Saban to shake things up this dramatically, this close to securing another title, suggests the behind-the-scenes Kiffin drama was greater than the glimpses re- vealed last week in Atlanta.
Given two bad choices, that Saban deemed this one less problematic is an indictment of Kiffin and his own judgment in trying to keep this patched together through the championship game.
Maybe Alabama will be good enough to overcome it regardless, maybe Jonathan Allen and that historically strong defense can single-handedly carry the Crimson Tide to the finish line.
Or maybe, if Clemson is holding the trophy late next Monday, we’ll learn why those hated external factors have delayed Saban’s chase for Bear Bryant by at least another year.