Alabama head coach Nick Saban announced on Monday that offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin is leaving the team before the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
In a press release, Saban and Kiffin said they came to a mutual agreement that it will be difficult for Kiffin to focus on Clemson while also preparing for his next gig as the head coach at Florida Atlantic.
Lane's done at Bama. pic.twitter.com/tegdPOU0tS
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) January 2, 2017
Steve Sarkisian, who had been working as an offensive assistant for the Tide, will take over as offensive coordinator.
It’s fair to wonder if Saban was unhappy with Kiffin’s game plan against Washington on Saturday. It makes little sense that Kiffin is leaving now rather than before the start of the College Football Playoff, and Alabama’s offense did not look that sharp against the Huskies. Kiffin called too many pass plays even after Washington demonstrated an inability to stop running back Bo Scarbrough, prompting one former Bama star to criticize the approach with this tweet.
Kiffin said recently that his memories of coaching at Alabama mostly involve being chewed out by Saban. We wouldn’t be surprised if that happened again over the weekend, which resulted in the mutual decision to part ways.
