Moments after Alabama’s 54-16 thrashing of Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game earlier this month, Crimson Tide third-year offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin was asked where he wanted to be next season.
“I want to be wherever I am,” Kiffin replied.
That locale will be Florida Atlantic, as the former head coach of the Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Volunteers and Southern California Trojans is scheduled to be introduced this morning as the new head coach of the Owls of Conference USA. Kiffin will stay with Alabama through college football’s four-team playoff, just as former Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart did a year ago after accepting the head-coaching opportunity at Georgia.
In Kiffin’s three years under Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide are 39-3 with three SEC championships and three playoff trips. Alabama has accomplished this feat with Blake Sims (2014), Jake Coker (2015) and Jalen Hurts (this season) leading the offense, making the Tide the first program and Kiffin the first offensive coordinator since World War II to win three straight conference titles with three different quarterbacks.
“Lane has done a phenomenal job for us for these last three years, and we appreciate the impact he’s made on this program,” Saban said Monday during a news conference in Tuscaloosa that promoted the Peach Bowl national semifinal against Washington on New Year’s Eve. “We think this is a wonderful opportunity for him to be a head coach again. I think FAU has selected someone that is going to do a great job for them.