With his checkered past as a head coach, Alabama’s hiring of Lane Kiffin was met with skepticism by many of the Crimson Tide faithful. And some saw it as an outright mistake, the invitation of unwanted baggage to a program in reloading mode. But the arrival of the oft-fired offensive coordinator has ended up being the spark the Crimson Tide needed.
In just four games, Kiffin has successfully reinvigorated Alabama’s offense by instituting his philosophies and unleashing the top-tier talent that seems to inhabit the entire depth chart.
He has found an accurate, confident quarterback in Blake Sims, a gruesome stable of running backs, and a deceptively deep receiving corps led by Amari Cooper, who now leads the nation in almost every receiving category imaginable.
“I think Coach Kiffin is a very smart offensive coordinator,” Cooper said. “He takes advantage of matchups and he knows exactly what he’s doing.”
Alabama is as talented, if not more so, than any of Kiffin’s USC teams during his tenure there as offensive coordinator, even the vaunted 2005 squad that was upset by Vince Young and Texas in the national title game. That year, USC was the first team in college football history to have a 3000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard rushers and a 1,000-yard receiver, and a second wide receiver, Steve Smith, came up just 32 yards short of surpassing 1,000 yards himself.
So being the shiniest coordinator in the country is nothing new to Kiffin. His only mistake last time was leaving.
Kiffin’s offense at Alabama has averaged 588 yards per game so far, ranking fourth in the nation in total offense, with more yards through four games than any Crimson Tide team ever. Alabama’s offense has never outshone Saban’s defense throughout his career in Tuscaloosa, but through four games, it has.
“He’s making this offense great. Putting everybody so we’ll get mismatched all over the field,” fullback Jalston Fowler said. “Coach Kiffin’s all about business. He wants you to do everything right, just like Coach Saban. He expects it. When you do things right, you make him very happy, when you do things wrong he’ll chew on you.”
While its first three games were fine showings for the offense, Alabama’s 42-21 victory over Florida on Saturday was the first true test of the new group’s mettle. Florida prevented big runs through the first few quarters, so Alabama beat them with quick short passes and outrageously open long passes. Then, the Crimson Tide eventually wore them down by the fourth quarter as running backs Derrick Henry and T.J. Yeldon bulldozed their way through a ragged Gator defense. In Alabama’s first game against an SEC opponent, Blake Sims had a stat-corrected 484 yards, tying for the most total yardage for an Alabama player in a single game. The offense finished with 672 yards, the most ever allowed by a Florida defense, and ran 87 plays, which is a record for a Saban-coached Crimson Tide team.
“I felt like we could have had 900 yards,” offensive lineman Austin Shepherd said.
Last season the Crimson Tide averaged just 65.9 plays per game under the watchful, conservative eye of offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier. That ranked the Tide 116th in the nation in plays per game. Through four games this season, the team is averaging 78.8 plays per game. That comes as a surprise to many after Saban allegedly requested the 10-second rule and constantly inveighed against hurry-up, no-huddle teams during the offseason. Alabama can now run the hurry-up at any time.
“I’ve been begging the offensive coordinators around here to open it up ever since I’ve been here,” Saban said. “Now we have more skill players that are good perimeter players and I think we are doing what we need to do on offense to take advantage of that. Lane does a really, really good job of taking advantage of what players can do.”
Kiffin is conducting an offensive symphony and keeping his Waffle House menu play sheet close to the vest. If you had only watched Alabama play FAU or West Virginia, you’d think screen passes were the only things it could do. But the first play against Florida was an 87-yard bomb to Kenyan Drake, not exactly the conservative three yards and a cloud of dust that have typified Tide offenses in recent years.
The Alabama offense is no longer run-first, it’s best-play first. Whatever the defense presents, the offense will capitalize on it.
“It’s a pro philosophy and Lane’s got experience as a pro coach. That’s his background, that’s what he does, and he does a really good job,” Saban said. “I think he utilizes the players really well, and presents problems for the defense by formation and adjustment. It’s worked out well and hopefully will continue to improve.”
The trick with Kiffin is to have him coach and recruit — nothing more — which, at Alabama, is feasible. He’s only required to attend two media availabilities all year. Other than that Kiffin’s goal is to be neither seen nor heard, though, having a specific camera stuck on him during games is making the former a little difficult.
Maybe he’s just not built to be a head coach. He seemed to abhor daily media availability. He wears an oversized windbreaker and visor on 95-degree August days and still has a boyish look to him.
But his duty is no longer attending luncheons or fundraisers, or doing any of the schmoozy, political, sometimes uncomfortable activities that go along with being a head coach. His job is fulfilled on the field, calling plays, making adjustments, and helping his quarterbacks when they need it.
“He lets me know he has all the confidence in the world for me,” Sims said of Kiffin. “He sits me down and says, ‘Hey, in this situation you’ll see this, and in this situation, you’ll see that. If you don’t see what you see, I’m going to help you out.’”
It’s only been four games so let’s hold off on declaring this Alabama’s best offense ever, or naming Amari Cooper the Heisman winner, or even starting the coach-in-waiting talk for a little while.
“In my opinion we have not arrived as an offense,” Saban said emphatically, “and [Lane] would be the first to tell you that.”
But for the coach who had one of the most unceremonious firings in recent memory, Kiffin’s return to the conference he once jilted has been triumphant. Now he and his offense will delve into the SEC West schedule and will have to prove themselves against the toughest division in college football.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter @Jonathan_Biles
