Ladies and gentlemen, we live in a strange new college football world. A world full of “kick-sixes” and basketball schools winning at football haunted the 2013 football season. This was a season that saw Auburn make it to the national championship game, this time without having to buy their quarterback. Clearly Pandora’s Box has been opened, and chaos has been set loose on college football. Perhaps one of the scariest parts of this turbulent season was the recent addition of Lane Kiffin as our new offensive coordinator.
At the ripe old age of 38, Kiffin has had a massive amount of coaching experience in both the National Football League and at other BCS-caliber college programs. His experience running the offense during Pete Carroll’s dynasty at the University of Southern California has earned him second chance after second chance in the coaching profession. Moreover, the man is one hell of a salesman; he is the relentless kind of recruiter that Nick Saban has relied on to haul in numerous top-rated recruiting classes.
However, Kiffin carries the ghost of coaching jobs past with him everywhere he goes. Nobody doubts Kiffin’s ability to coach and create offensive juggernauts, or his inability to be successful as a head coach. My fears with Kiffin simply boil down to trust and Saban’s ability to keep him in line.
I understand our dislike of the University of Tennessee. Be it Peyton Manning conducting Rocky Top in Bryant-Denny Stadium or Terrance Cody’s “Rocky Block,” there is no love lost between our two schools. However, the way Kiffin conducted himself while in Knoxville should definitely raise some eyebrows about his tenure here in Tuscaloosa. Kiffin jumped from the sinking ship of UT faster than you can say “Rocky Top,” leaving the program in shambles and with the NCAA breathing down their necks.
The question needs to be asked: Is Lane Kiffin willing to actually care about and invest in The University of Alabama or is he simply waiting to jump to greener pastures? Bear Bryant was willing to leave Texas A&M simply because “mama called,” and it is my hope that Kiffin is eventually able to view the University in the same way.
Secondly, it needs to be clearly understood that the mainstream sports media can smell blood in the water quicker than a great white shark. ESPN seems to love killing coaching careers by over-publicizing and attacking every little thing coaches do. During his tenure in Tuscaloosa, Saban has done an amazing job at sheltering his coordinators from media scrutiny. After wins and losses, Saban stands in the press room and takes his lumps from the media, always accepting the blame.
The media is going to try to be on Lane Kiffin like white on rice. His success or failure is largely going to be based on Saban’s ability to keep him out of the media’s eye.
In all honestly, I have to admit I have never been the biggest Lane Kiffin fan; I enjoyed rooting against him while he was at both UT and USC. However, he is a part of the University of Alabama family now, and, in the end, in Saban we must trust.
Will Gonzalez is a sophomore majoring in education. His column runs biweekly.
