Period. Point Blank.
The internet obviously has a creepy obsession with his wife Layla Kiffin, but we’ve already discussed that enough in posts prior. Layla Kiffin is SEO gold and Lane Kiffin is probably SEO silver because calling him a polarizing figure is an understatement.
It makes sense given that he’s coached at quite a few teams that have HIGHLY engaged fanbases: Oakland Raiders, USC Trojans, Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers. Also, Kiffin is a second generation American success story, and as we all know, America always has strong, but mixed opinions on these kinds of people. Just ask Joe Buck.
This fall, Lane Kiffin BROKE the internet with rumors that he….got fired, slept with Nick Saban’s wife, or daughter, got beat up by Saban, beat up Saban, single-handedly reversed global warming with just the strength of his pinkie and his visor.
Well, scratch that last one, but the point is, whatever you can think of with Lane Kiffin, you heard a rumor about it in September.
Also, NONE of that was true. Nevertheless, the comedian Daniel Tosh’s doppelganger topped our pop chart of football stories in 2015, as people were more engaged in Lane Kiffin than they were in any other football topic.
Which leads us to Monday night’s college football national championship game. If Kiffin calls a good game, if Bama mixes in enough spread-option type stuff with their standard I-form, if the Tide do enough innovative plays to counter-balance their more traditional type offense, it could make the difference!
Michigan State predictably sold out to stop Derrick Henry in the Cotton Bowl. Lane Kiffin responded, and the combination of Jake Coker to Calvin Ridley lit up the Sparty defense.
In the past two years in Tuscaloossa, Kiffin has quietly displayed the traits that once made the Golden Boy of NFL GMs and college Athletic Directors all over the country. He was the young whiz kid who, although arrogant as all get out, really knew how to run an offense and make it sing.
Of course, his repeated failing upward, and the most humbling type of firing possible in the parking lot of Los Angeles International Airport, brought him down to Earth. Think about that- what could you have done wrong, what kind of person are you that your employer says “no, you’re on your own getting home, we’re canning your ass now, instead of waiting till we get back to the office.”
So while Lane Kiffin had the world on a string at a young age (helped more than a bit by his father’s connections), he quickly felt a market correction. That humbling seems to have re-focused him, as he’s now doing his job as good as anyone else in the country.
So maybe Lane Kiffin is back now?
Kirk Herbstreit will call the national championship for ESPN, and he did a media conference call previewing the game today.
Some clips of Herbstreit’s insights on Lane Kiffin.
On over-committing to stopping Derrick Henry, and leaving yourself vulnerable to Calvin Ridley:
“There’s a lot of film study on the way Jake Coker has played, not just in the Michigan State game but the Florida game with Lane Kiffin, I don’t know if he gets enough credit for the job he’s doing, and he’s putting Jay Coker in a position to be successful by taking his chances on first and second down.
He’s avoiding those third down situations where it’s third and seven, third and eight, obvious passing situations where Coker has really struggled this year. That Alabama offense has struggled mightily in those situations and I think they have done a heck of a job of trying to keep them out of those situations and doing everything that they can to give him a chance to be successful.”
Regarding the offensive philosophy, mixing traditional I-form with spread-option:
“Lane Kiffin, he’s been willing to do some tempo and some spread concepts.”
“But right now, man, he (Coker) and Lane Kiffin are on the same page and I’m worried about early shots to Ridley and to Stewart downfield.”
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. The website is also featured on News Now.
Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye. He also appears regularly on numerous talk shows all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 The Zone.