Kiffin will be interviewed for Houston position
ATLANTA — Whether or not No. 1 Alabama’s 54-16 win Saturday over No. 16 Florida (No. 15 in AP) is offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin’s last with the Crimson Tide is yet to be determined.
According to a report from SB Nation on Friday, Kiffin is set to interview with Houston on Sunday and is currently being promoted for the job by Alabama coach Nick Saban.
Kiffin said he would plan to stay with Alabama through the playoffs. Following Saturday’s win, Saban said he has had conversations with Kiffin about the offensive coordinator leaving.
“He wants to be a head coach. I want him to be a head coach,” Saban said. “I want to help him to get a head coaching job. The rest of it, we have not discussed, and I don't think it's the right time. Maybe the right time will be sometime in the next couple weeks, but right now we're focusing on him trying to get a head coaching job.”
If this is, in fact, Kiffin’s last hurrah with the Tide, the offensive coordinator went out in style.
After ending the first quarter with minus-7 yards of total offense, Kiffin was able to help the Tide rebound. The Tide finished with a season-high 54 points while racking up 372 yards (234 rushing, 138 passing) against the nation’s No. 6 defense.
“We finished the first half pretty well, and in the second half we did pretty well, also,” Kiffin said. “Coach (Saban) talked this week about if we finish every series with a kick, we’ll win this game. Our guys did that, we didn’t turn the ball over.”
Defensive streak snapped: Alabama’s month-long streak of holding opponents out of the end zone ended on Florida’s first drive. Gators quarterback Austin Appleby connected with receiver Antonio Callaway for a 5-yard touchdown.
“Like we don't like that. We don't like giving up points,” said Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster, who earned MVP honors. “We don't like giving up first downs. We hate that. So we had to overcome that and step up.”
The score snapped a span of 273 minutes and 3 seconds where the Tide’s defense had kept opponents out of the end zone. Before that play, the last touchdown Alabama had allowed was Oct. 22 against Texas A&M. Aggies quarterback Trevor Knight found receiver Christian Kirk for a 25-yard score with 12:54 left in the third quarter.
Saban has a knack for big games: Saban’s teams have shown an ability to shine in big games throughout his career, and Saturday was no different. The win gives Saban a victory in with past nine championship meetings and extended his record to 12-1 in a title-game setting.
Saban now has seven SEC titles to his name, winning five with Alabama and two at LSU.
If Alabama goes on to win the national championship this season, Saban will tie legendary Alabama head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant for the most all-time with six.