The Confusing Future of Lane Kiffin in College Football

It's hard to tell which is more staggering: the number of big college football programs looking for new coaches, or the number of times the same name has come up in speculation for those positions.

At South Carolina. At Miami. At Illinois. At Maryland. Heck, why not LSU, where coach Les Miles is "coaching for his job" as of Tuesday, according to the Advocate?

Is Lane Kiffin about to become the most desired college football coach in the country? Really? Because he has already had three chances at head coaching jobs, leaving each spot in wreckage.

After being fired at USC midseason two years ago, Kiffin has rebuilt his name in an incredible hurry as Nick Saban's offensive coordinator at Alabama. It's too early to know if Kiffin will really be in on all these jobs or if writers are just throwing a controversial, big-name coach into their stories to get reader reaction. But Kiffin will get a job if he wants. And I'd like to put in my vote for where he should go.

University of Alabama, offensive coordinator.

Just stay, Lane. Just do what you've never done before and stay still. Stay in one place. Don't jump too fast.

The College Football Playoff has changed the coaching profession. Everyone is chasing way too much money, and college football has become professional football, with coaches being fired or thrown onto the hot seat in the middle of the season.

Example No. 1: Les Miles.

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Scott Rabalais wrote in the Advocate that there are "strong indications" Miles has to prove himself in the team's last two games or he's out. Funny: It seems like just yesterday that LSU was ranked No. 2 with a surefire Heisman Trophy candidate.

Actually, that was 13 days ago. Now, with two losses since then, a coach who has won one national title, played for another and claimed SEC titles has to prove himself.

Miles just can't seem to develop a quarterback.

Hey, you know who's good that?

Bo Pelini was fired at Nebraska for winning just nine games a year. Now Miles might be in trouble for 10 a year. That's the climate in a sport when billions of dollars take over.

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Two years ago, Kiffin was known as a guy whose mouth and cocky attitude kept putting people off and getting him fired. Now, here's what Saban told AL.com's John Talty in September:

"

Lane does a great job for what we want him to do. He's a great play-caller, he's a really good teacher, he has great relationships with the players. He does a great job utilizing the personnel. ... I think he's a great offensive coordinator. I don't know what his issues were as a head coach, but that wasn't what we hired him for. We have one of those.

"

Kiffin's name is back, and his recruiting ability is hard to overlook.

But we have to remember the context: He's not only a hot coaching prospect; he's also a three-time loser. Four strikes, and he's going to be out. He has to be patient this time and pick the right fit.

Look, I tend to defend Kiffin for his past. At 31, he became the head coach of the Oakland Raiders and was the youngest head coach in NFL history. He wasn't ready, and his boss was Al Davis.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

He went to the University of Tennessee, where he got off to a good start, but then left when USC called. How can you pass up your dream job?

But there was no way to replace the ultimate cool salesman, Pete Carroll. Kiffin does not have that smooth Hollywood personality. And Carroll left him not only a program that had won the national title, but also one that was going to lose a lot of scholarships because of NCAA probation. Not only that, but Kiffin was still young and still seen as someone getting jobs because of the family name. His dad, Monte, is known as one of the all-time great assistant coaches.

In other words, Kiffin was set up to fail. And he did. Then Saban brought him in to modernize Alabama's offense.

So Kiffin is back. He has earned his spot now. But he can't afford another mess-up.

With every speculation about Kiffin comes the conclusion that he has matured under Saban, that he won't make the same mistakes again. Two things about that:

1) Ha. 2) Ha.

Exactly what is anyone basing that on? Saban doesn't let his assistant coaches talk in public. (Does he let them talk in private?) That's why people see his football results now, because they aren't clouded by his words.

Most likely, Kiffin is still going to be Kiffin whenever he becomes a head coach again. He just has to find the right fit, the place where people are good with his brashness. That might be Miami, but the facilities there are notoriously bad. Maybe Maryland, but it never is quite sure how big-time it really wants to be.

Nobody complains about getting too much, too soon. But there's nothing wrong with hanging out another year or two with Saban and learning how a top program is run. And an Alabama coordinator job is better than most head-coaching jobs.

Kiffin has plenty of time, and there are going to be plenty of jobs opening every year from now on.

Time to show some patience.

Greg Couch covers college football for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter at @gregcouch.