How Long Will Lane Kiffin Stay at Alabama?
From lightning rod to leader.
That's the journey Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has embarked on this year.
The former USC and Tennessee head coach took over the Alabama offense under a cloud of doubt.
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"Is he really a good offensive mind?"
"Can his personalty mesh with that of head coach Nick Saban?"
"Will his system work with Alabama's personnel?"
The answer to all of those questions is an emphatic "yes," as the Crimson Tide finished the season 11-1 with the second-best offense in the conference (489.3 yards per game), the SEC West crown in hand and a No. 1 seed in the inaugural College Football Playoff within reach.
Nobody expected Blake Sims to be Kiffin's quarterback this year. It was supposed to be Jake Coker. But all the redshirt senior Sims has done is complete 63.1 percent of his passes (207 of 328) for 2,988 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven picks. He finished the season as the most efficient passer in the nation (159.91) and seventh in the nation.
Essentially, he turned into a game manager who would impress even former Tide quarterback AJ McCarron.
Not bad for a dual-threat quarterback who, at one time, played running back for the Crimson Tide.
Kiffin came to Alabama to revitalize his career, and boy did he. The question now becomes, how long will he be there?
According to Michael Casagrande of AL.com, Kiffin is currently working on a three-year deal as Alabama's offensive coordinator, which surely includes some provisions that would allow him to become a head coach if offered the chance.
So where would he go?
Kiffin would seem like a fish out of water at Nebraska and Kansas, and while he'd kill it at Florida, burned bridges from his time at Tennessee likely can't be rebuilt quickly enough for Kiffin to get the job in Gainesville.
If Michigan opens up, he could have a tremendous amount of success there. Like Nebraska and Kansas, though, the personalities may not mesh well between Kiffin and the higher-ups in Ann Arbor.
The openings that are out there now and could pop up this week don't scream Kiffin, so Alabama might luck out and get to keep its suddenly hot offensive coordinator for another year.
The wild card, though, is Miami.
The Hurricanes sputtered down the stretch, losing their final three games to close the season 6-6 and fifth in the ACC Coastal division—one of the worst divisions in FBS. Head coach Al Golden has been in Coral Gables for four seasons, posting a 28-21 overall record and a 16-16 record within the division.
As Luke Stampini of 247Sports.com notes, his resume is comparable to another former coach in the Sunshine State:
Golden is likely safe this offseason but will enter 2015 on one of the hottest seats in America.
The Miami job is one that screams "Kiffin."
He's an offensive coach who can boost a Hurricanes' offense that finished the regular season ranked 48th (431.0 yards per game), proved that he can adjust his system to the players on the roster and would set the recruiting trail ablaze in talent-rich South Florida.
One more year of success at Alabama would work wonders for Kiffin's job prospects. He'll have to rebuild with a new quarterback and likely without junior wide receiver Amari Cooper and T.J. Yeldon, both of whom are eligible for the NFL draft.
If he can do it, he'd make himself very attractive to potential suitors, one of which could be Miami.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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