Lane Kiffin to Ole Miss means a tougher schedule for Alabama Football

Ole Miss scooped up Lane Kiffin before Arkansas had the opportunity to up their ante. This new member in the SEC West means an even tougher schedule for the Alabama Football team in coming years.

Former Alabama Football Offensive Coordinator, Lane Kiffin hasn’t always had a picture perfect coaching career. He’s hit quite a few speed bumps along the way, namely when he was left on a tarmac after being fired by USC. He also left Tennessee in less than favorable conditions prior to his stint at USC. After his infamous firing at USC, Nick Saban brought him on staff with the Crimson Tide.

Working under Nick Saban for the Alabama Football team served as a rehabilitation role for Kiffin. He learned the ropes from the GOAT and rebuilt his reputation in the College Football world. Kiffin began the transformation of Nick Saban’s offense and brought in huge recruits, most importantly Saban’s first starting Freshman quarterback, Jalen Hurts.

Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban did not always see eye-to-eye. Kiffin was famous for getting chewed out on the sidelines on national TV, even if the Tide was up 40 points. The recent fall in the Tide’s defense might really be due to a lack of Kiffin on the sidelines. Reports say the Tide defense use to work harder in practice to disrupt the offense knowing it would lead to Saban yelling at Kiffin.

Saban had finally had enough and let Kiffin move on where he found his new home in sunny Boca Raton, Florida as the head coach of Florida Atlantic University. Kiffin had a solid run at FAU holding a 26-13 record and two Conference USA titles.

All of those experiences- good and bad- led him to what will likely be a match made in heaven. Kiffin signed a four year $16.2 million dollar deal with the Rebels. Kiffin returns to take on the SEC much to the delight of his son and Ole Miss fans. He received a huge welcome from fans as his plane landed. Kiffin joked later this tarmac experience was quite different than his last.

Kiffin will do well at Ole Miss. He may not ever lead them to a SEC or National Championship, but he will do a tremendous job at playing spoiler for the SEC West giants like Alabama Football. He will also make recruiting in the conference even more challenging. He sometimes has the personality of a great salesman and pulled in quite a few recruits on early signing day this week.

Alabama Football’s path to a championship next season just got a little more complicated with an additional Saban protégé on the schedule. Saban should maintain his perfect record against former assistants, but have no fear Kiffin will make it interesting.