BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
The most fascinating coaching transaction in college football this offseason united two of the sport's most polarizing figures: Alabama's Nick Saban and former USC coach Lane Kiffin.
It's a union that nearly happened in 2007, when agent Jimmy Sexton contacted Kiffin to see if he had any interest in leaving USC, where he was an assistant, to become Alabama's offensive coordinator. Kiffin listened but politely declined, and a few weeks later he took the Oakland Raiders head coaching job.
But after Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier left for Michigan in January, the Kiffin-Saban alliance finally occurred.
There's a backstory to the most compelling pairing of head coach and offensive coordinator in the country. Saban got a preview of having Kiffin around in December, when Kiffin flew to Tuscaloosa to spend eight days evaluating the Crimson Tide. In early January, before he got hired at Alabama, Kiffin went into detail with SI.com about what he learned from being ensconced in Saban's world. When asked what impressed him, Kiffin asked, "How long you got?"
On Kiffin's first night in town, he had a three-hour dinner at Saban's house. Every night after that, they'd spend 15 minutes going over their respective notes on the day. Kiffin said Saban paid for his flight and hotel room.
"It was something neat Nick did knowing I was out here doing nothing," Kiffin told SI.com in January. "It was good for both of us, and it was good for me to be around ball again."
Kiffin said the Crimson Tide had an NFL vibe. "It's an absolute machine from when you step into that building until you walk out at the end of the night," he said. "Everything from recruiting to offense to defense. Everyone in there is just working."
Kiffin's most interesting observation came from watching film of Alabama in SEC play. Kiffin coached at Tennessee in 2009 before going to USC and sees the SEC trending more toward the Pac-12's style of wide-open play.
"In watching a lot of film of their season, (the SEC is) starting to change a little bit toward the Pac-12, spread out with a running quarterback," Kiffin said. "You're seeing that with Texas A&M. The SEC is changing, which is surprising."
The organization at Alabama wasn't the only thing that looked like the NFL. The talent did, too.
"It was the first week of bowl practice and they were practicing like it was a game," Kiffin said. "They were physical and aggressive and tough practices. They've got a lot of top talent. At USC we had it, but they've got 85 scholarship players. There's a lot more of it."
The visit from Kiffin, which was not announced to the staff, left Alabama coaches on both sides of the ball confused as to why he was there, as little explanation was given. Some considered it Saban overreacting to losing to Auburn. Kiffin's visit didn't lead directly to Nussmeier leaving for Michigan, where he'll be among the country's highest-paid assistants. But no one on staff looked at it as a ringing endorsement.
Kiffin won't be making a financial windfall at Alabama, as he'll make less than high-end SEC coordinators. USC owes Kiffin more than $10 million over the next several years. Any money Alabama pays him is offset, meaning that it's subtracted from what USC owes him. So expect Kiffin's deal to be similar to the $680,000 Nussmeier made at Alabama, not the typical million-dollar salary for a high-end SEC coordinator.
Will he earn it? That's going to be the most fascinating question in 2014.
Read More Here...
It's a union that nearly happened in 2007, when agent Jimmy Sexton contacted Kiffin to see if he had any interest in leaving USC, where he was an assistant, to become Alabama's offensive coordinator. Kiffin listened but politely declined, and a few weeks later he took the Oakland Raiders head coaching job.
But after Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier left for Michigan in January, the Kiffin-Saban alliance finally occurred.
There's a backstory to the most compelling pairing of head coach and offensive coordinator in the country. Saban got a preview of having Kiffin around in December, when Kiffin flew to Tuscaloosa to spend eight days evaluating the Crimson Tide. In early January, before he got hired at Alabama, Kiffin went into detail with SI.com about what he learned from being ensconced in Saban's world. When asked what impressed him, Kiffin asked, "How long you got?"
On Kiffin's first night in town, he had a three-hour dinner at Saban's house. Every night after that, they'd spend 15 minutes going over their respective notes on the day. Kiffin said Saban paid for his flight and hotel room.
"It was something neat Nick did knowing I was out here doing nothing," Kiffin told SI.com in January. "It was good for both of us, and it was good for me to be around ball again."
Kiffin said the Crimson Tide had an NFL vibe. "It's an absolute machine from when you step into that building until you walk out at the end of the night," he said. "Everything from recruiting to offense to defense. Everyone in there is just working."
Kiffin's most interesting observation came from watching film of Alabama in SEC play. Kiffin coached at Tennessee in 2009 before going to USC and sees the SEC trending more toward the Pac-12's style of wide-open play.
"In watching a lot of film of their season, (the SEC is) starting to change a little bit toward the Pac-12, spread out with a running quarterback," Kiffin said. "You're seeing that with Texas A&M. The SEC is changing, which is surprising."
The organization at Alabama wasn't the only thing that looked like the NFL. The talent did, too.
"It was the first week of bowl practice and they were practicing like it was a game," Kiffin said. "They were physical and aggressive and tough practices. They've got a lot of top talent. At USC we had it, but they've got 85 scholarship players. There's a lot more of it."
The visit from Kiffin, which was not announced to the staff, left Alabama coaches on both sides of the ball confused as to why he was there, as little explanation was given. Some considered it Saban overreacting to losing to Auburn. Kiffin's visit didn't lead directly to Nussmeier leaving for Michigan, where he'll be among the country's highest-paid assistants. But no one on staff looked at it as a ringing endorsement.
Kiffin won't be making a financial windfall at Alabama, as he'll make less than high-end SEC coordinators. USC owes Kiffin more than $10 million over the next several years. Any money Alabama pays him is offset, meaning that it's subtracted from what USC owes him. So expect Kiffin's deal to be similar to the $680,000 Nussmeier made at Alabama, not the typical million-dollar salary for a high-end SEC coordinator.
Will he earn it? That's going to be the most fascinating question in 2014.
Read More Here...
