A California swagger, a little rebellious, a fun interviewee and a quarterback guru.
All of these things can be proven true about offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin and the rest to follow include a national champion and a third season under Nick Saban.
According to Zach Barnett, writer for Football Scoop and College Football Talk, Kiffin turned down an offer at UCLA as an offensive coordinator to remain at Alabama.
The offer was made prior to the Crimson Tide facing Clemson for a national championship, per ESPN college football writer Brett McMurphy.
Alabama OC Lane Kiffin turned down offer to be UCLA’s OC, sources told @ESPN https://t.co/68oPTjZEg5
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 14, 2016
Kiffin, 40, has maintained balance in Alabama’s offense during his two seasons.
He has produced two Heisman Trophy finalist and a winner in running back Derrick Henry. Former Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper won the Fred Biletnikoff Award and offensive player of the year for the Southeastern Conference last season. Kiffin coached Blake Sims into being the school’s single-season passing leading with 3,487 yards and guided Jacob Coker to national championship.
Next season will be pivotal as Alabama will have four dual threat quarterbacks in place for Kiffin. He was a part of two AP national titles and three Heisman winners (Reggie Bush, 2005 vacated) at Southern California, a hated rival of UCLA. Kiffin appeared in a national championship game Monday night for the first time since the 2005 season that featured USC and Texas in the title match. Winning on the biggest stage will keep the phone lines ringing, but for now, Kiffin is still employed by Alabama.
Stephen M. Smith is a senior analyst and columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @ESPN_Future.
