Lane Kiffin says his hire at Alabama was discussed before he joined Oakland
Lane Kiffin at Alabama wasn't something that was first thought of when Kiffin was fired at USC.
On Sunday, Kiffin met with the media for the first time this season. As coach Nick Saban's coordinators don't have regular media availabilities, it'll be before a potential bowl game before Kiffin has an availability again.
When asked about joining Alabama, Kiffin revealed that he first had conversations when Nick Saban joined the school in 2007.
"I don't think being here in December for the bowl practices had anything to do with this," Kiffin said. "Obviously you have to ask Coach Saban that. Knowing him before and just knowing what he's about, I thought this would be a great opportunity if it ever presented itself somehow -- there were actually some conversations a long time ago I guess, that were coach's first year when he first got here actually. Had some conversations on the phone with him about coming here at that time and decided to stay at USC at that time.
"So it was something that I had kind of always thought about because I think the more you can learn from more people obviously, the better you can become as a coach."
Can you imagine how the college football landscape would have changed if Kiffin had gone to Alabama then? Saban was officially hired at Alabama on Jan. 3, 2007. 20 days later, Kiffin was officially introduced as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, so it made sense for him to decline the offer.
But Kiffin was only in Oakland for two seasons before he was the head coach at Tennessee and faced Saban himself. And then it was off to USC to replace Pete Carroll, who he worked under as co-offensive coordinator.
Think of all of the fun we would have missed. Of course, there's no telling what Alabama would have done too. Would the Tide have been as successful as they have been under Saban with Kiffin? Possibly. But it's not a guarantee. Oakland's offer might be one of the most significant things in college football history.
- - - - - - -
Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
