If Death Valley is “the place where opponent’s dreams go to die”, then Alabama is the place where former coaches go to keep their dreams alive. Nick Saban has a knack for taking former head coaches, that seem to have come to the end of their road and turning them into highly sought-after head coaches again.
Need an example? Let’s take a look at three of Alabama’s recent Offensive Coordinators. First, let’s start with the most polarizing head coach on Twitter.
Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Rebels
Lane Kiffin was the head coach of the USC Trojans from 2010 to 2013…let’s just say, things did NOT end well. He was famously fired at 3:14 a.m. on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport, following a loss to Arizona State.
He then became the Offensive Coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2014 to 2016. During that stretch, he reinvented the style of offense that Alabama runs. When you think of Alabama and how they usually run their offense, you think of I-formation, power running, clock control, and menacing defense.
After Kiffin was through in Tuscaloosa, we started seeing gunslingers and gaudy numbers. Thanks to how well he ran the Crimson Tide offense, he was able to land another head coaching job. A job just across the state line at Ole Miss.
Next, another former USC head coach.