🏈 Kiffin Is Out

[TUSKtimes]

Clemson folks are thinking about all this stuff too.

http://www.tigernet.com/story/footba...-defense-15510

 

[Bama Guy]

Good point that we lose Kiffin's familiarity with Clemson's DC schemes.

 

[rocknthefreeworld]

They seem to believe we will only run the ball. Doubt that is what happens.

 

[JoshB]

Good point that we lose Kiffin's familiarity with Clemson's DC schemes.

I got a feeling Kiff will still be around some in the next week.

 

[UAgrad93]

Clemson folks are thinking about all this stuff too.

http://www.tigernet.com/story/footba...-defense-15510

So many people like to go with this way of thinking that it puzzles me....."Sarkisian won't have time to put all of his plays, formations, and terminology in, so how well will he do?"
:eyeroll:

 

[bama alum]

So many people like to go with this way of thinking that it puzzles me....."Sarkisian won't have time to put all of his plays, formations, and terminology in, so how well will he do?"
:eyeroll:

Yeah, not that worried about that. Trading 1A for 1B.

 

[UAgrad93]

Yeah, not that worried about that. Trading 1A for 1B.

The part that people don't get is, this is Saban's offense. There won't be any overhaul of this offense. Kiffin was able to tweak a few things but terminology, plays, formations stay the same. We have adjusted our tempo and added RPOs, but we won't be going pro style Monday night.

 

[Alabama17Tide]

HURT: Two jobs just too much for Kiffin
Cecil Hurt | TideSports.com

Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin walks off the field following the SEC Championship game against Florida at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga. on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016. Alabama defeated Florida 54-16.
Erin Nelson | The Tuscaloosa News
When Lane Kiffin had one job to do at Alabama, he did it very well.

As an offensive coordinator – a single job that encompassed quarterback development and Saturday play-calling – Kiffin probably exceeded Nick Saban's expectations, and certainly surpassed everyone else's. He deserves recognition for that, from every Alabama fan. The current playoff structure is young, but it's unlikely that any team will reach the playoff in three consecutive years with three different inexperienced quarterbacks ever again. History will look kindly on that accomplishment. And if there were other aspects of the job – the early-morning meetings, the recruiting trips, those infamous ass-chewings – that he didn't relish, he managed to muddle through.

His play-calling was an occasional source of frustration, not just for Saban. Some of the fan outrage about "running the ball" was real, some of it a product of the unattainable expectations at Alabama, and some of it was a sort of self-parody. (Yes, I suggested on Twitter last Saturday that he might be waterboarded at halftime, but it was meant in the friendliest way.) Kiffin's answer, had he chosen to respond, could have been the classic "Scoreboard!" – where Alabama was putting up more points than it ever had before.

Vintage Kiffin was like a Lamborghini on an interstate. When all the other cars and attendant clutter was cleared away and he had three open lanes (the pun is unavoidable) in which to operate, he could cruise at 160 miles per hour. But when you put traffic out there, he would still be driving at 160 and probably hit something. When he took the Florida Atlantic head coaching job, there was suddenly way too much traffic. What's more, after spending almost all of the year in media isolation, he was suddenly the interview of national choice, attracting more reporters at Peach Bowl Media Day than Saban himself.

Suddenly, the Alabama assistant with the least aptitude for dealing with distraction – and Kiffin would admit that of himself – had the most distractions to deal with.

It showed.

It wasn't that Kiffin didn't make a good-faith effort to do all his jobs. He did. People point out that Kirby Smart and Jim McElwain were able to handle the double role in championship games, but they are different individuals. Smart would admit that the back-and-forth between Alabama and Georgia last year wore him down. But both he and McElwain had lower profiles than Kiffin, and more of a natural flair for organization. Certainly, neither one spent time house-hunting in Athens or Fort Collins (much less Boca Raton), and if they had, it wouldn't have been with a Sports Illustrated writer in tow. For Kiffin, that seemed natural.

That pace would take a toll on anyone. I believe him when he says he wanted Alabama to win, and that he gave that his best shot. But even a savant has to have the time and energy to focus. Against Washington, Kiffin seemed drained or distracted. The play-calling didn't have its usual snap. Fortunately for Alabama, there was a default mode – Hand It To Bo – that was sufficient. Kiffin seemed a step behind, though, and not just when he missed the team bus.

Had Saban known that he wasn't going to get Kiffin's best work, he likely would have made the change earlier and given Steve Sarkisian more of a chance to prepare for the new role. There was no way to see the future. Saban deserves credit for recognizing that things weren't working out, and making a move when few coaches would have dared to do so.

Will Kiffin's departure be a distraction? Perhaps, although the championship game actually is less of a media madhouse than the semifinals. Would the distraction have been worse if Kiffin remained? Saban believed it would.

Lane Kiffin never leaves a job quietly. That seems to be a part of his history that he can't shake. But for as long as he could, he produced results on the field and that should be the memory from what was, in many ways, a strange interlude in Tuscaloosa.

 

[planomateo]

Had Saban known that he wasn't going to get Kiffin's best work, he likely would have made the change earlier and given Steve Sarkisian more of a chance to prepare for the new role. There was no way to see the future. Saban deserves credit for recognizing that things weren't working out, and making a move when few coaches would have dared to do so.

Agree.

 

[TerryP]

and I can guarantee they know Sark and his style.

But he has been around all year and they are already used to him and him to them.

There's been a good amount of time with Sark, Jalen, and the film room.

I'm seeing a lot think/talk about communication between the two and I don't see that as big of an issue as what's being tossed around.

 

[TUSKtimes]

The part that people don't get is, this is Saban's offense. There won't be any overhaul of this offense. Kiffin was able to tweak a few things but terminology, plays, formations stay the same. We have adjusted our tempo and added RPOs, but we won't be going pro style Monday night.

I agree no time to reinvent the wheel. We got plenty of go-to plays that work and we'll get to see Sark's interpretation of them. In describing some of the offensive discombobulation vs the huskies, it was strange to hear Kiffin was perhaps running out plays to Jalen they hadn't run in months.

 

[Rolltide24]

Good thing for us is, Kiffin leaving has no effect on our defense...

 

[AirForceBamaFan]

Good thing for us is, Kiffin leaving has no effect on our defense...

Unless we can't control the ball and leave our D out there chasing Watson, Gallman (spelling?), and Williams for too long. They could get worn out. Biggest way I could see it impacting our D.

 

[TidertillIdie]

So will Sark be in the booth or on the field?

 

[planomateo]

So will Sark be in the booth or on the field?

I would imagine on the field to keep some consistency for the offense.

 

[#80]

Let's hope a focused Pruitt does a better job than Kirby did last year.

 

[TUSKtimes]

10m10 minutes agoBrett McMurphy ‏@McMurphyESPN
Lane Kiffin on @MikeAndMike said Alabama is checking to see if he can be on sidelines or press box for @CFBPlayoff title game

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

10m10 minutes agoBrett McMurphy ‏@McMurphyESPN
Lane Kiffin on @MikeAndMike said Alabama is checking to see if he can be on sidelines or press box for @CFBPlayoff title game

So a role reversal of sorts. He still gets to remain on staff as an analyst and get his ring. He deserves that.

But, he won't have to focus on preparation and can focus more of his attention on his new job while being a second set of eyes in the NCG.

 

[TUSKtimes]

So a role reversal of sorts. He still gets to remain on staff as an analyst and get his ring. He deserves that.

But, he won't have to focus on preparation and can focus more of his attention on his new job while being a second set of eyes in the NCG.

Kiffin made it sound like he can speak to Sark up in the press box, just not the players. So I'm assuming that's what Sark has been doing all season. But I'm with you, role reversal sounds a lot less like radical surgery.

 

[OldPlayer]

Kiffin made it sound like he can speak to Sark up in the press box, just not the players. So I'm assuming that's what Sark has been doing all season. But I'm with you, role reversal sounds a lot less like radical surgery.

I don't think the offensive analyst in the booth has a microphone (I remember seeing several camera shots of Sark throughout the year showing he didn't have a mic). He must communicate to the "on field" coach in the booth who does have a mic.