ATLANTA – Night and day have never been so different for Lane Kiffin.
During the day, Kiffin is Alabama’s offensive coordinator, preparing to help the Crimson Tide reach another national championship. When it is dark, Kiffin is the head coach at Florida Atlantic, trying to build up a program that hasn’t had a winning season in eight years.
Tight end O.J. Howard said the situation is “a little bit weird,” but the Crimson Tide went through the same thing during last year’s College Football Playoff – when defensive coordinator Kirby Smart accepted the position as head coach at Georgia – and Kiffin said the long gap since their most recent game and the “dead” recruiting period has afforded him enough time to prepare for Saturday’s semifinal against Washington.
“There are some time issues with managing both jobs,” Kiffin said Wednesday. “I’ve communicated with coach [Nick Saban]. We went over the schedule to kind of find some time … whether it was on the phone or flying coaches in here to interview coaches while we’re here.
“When there is some free time and there’s nothing to do to help us win the game – and there is some of that time because we’ve had a month to play the game. It’s not like a normal game where all of a sudden it’s the first time we’re doing third down and red zone today. We’ve already done it three times.”
You can – and probably will – scoff at Kiffin’s claim that it wasn’t important for him to become a head coach again, but he was only going to remain at Alabama for so long. It just wasn’t always obvious that his exit would be his choice.
It was unclear whether Kiffin could fit in with Saban’s no-nonsense style, having transformed from wunderkind to toxic – following stints with the NFL’s Raiders, Tennessee and USC – before turning 40. Then, Kiffin installed an explosive offense that would lead the Crimson Tide to three straight SEC titles and playoff appearances.
Despite the success, the most memorable images from Kiffin’s time at Alabama are of him getting screamed at by Saban on the sideline, creating a misconception of their relationship, according to Kiffin.
“It seemed like, ‘OK, he just took a head job because he wanted to be a head coach or it wasn’t working at Alabama.’ … I don’t know where that comes from, out there, that the Alabama thing was over and the Saban/Kiffin marriage kind of ran its course,” Kiffin said. “Coach has been great to me. … And we did have a great three years.”
Still, Kiffin couldn’t help but jab his boss during his final days on the job.
“I don’t recall a happy moment. I just recall the ass chewings,” Kiffin said. “I won’t take that part of the process with me, though.”