Lane Kiffin will not coach in title game |
Alabama announced on Monday that offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin will not coach Alabama against Clemson in the National Championship game. New offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will call the plays as the Crimson Tide try to win back-to-back National Championship games against Clemson.
"We appreciate all that Lane has done for our football program over the last three years," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said according to school release. "We sat down following the Washington game and talked about the time demands of managing both jobs, and we recognized that it is best for our players, and for Lane, that we allow him to turn his full attention to his new head coaching role at FAU. This wasn't an easy decision and we appreciate the way Lane handled this in terms of doing what is best for our team. At the end of the day, both of us wanted to put our players in the best position to be successful. Obviously, we are in a unique situation here where we have our next offensive coordinator already on staff. We have full confidence that Sark will step in right away and make this a smooth transition." Kiffin is the new head coach at Florida Atlantic and needs to get started for the 2017 season. "After going through the last couple of weeks, trying to serve the best interests of two universities as an offensive coordinator and a head coach, it became apparent that both programs would be better served by me giving all my time and efforts to being the head coach at FAU," Kiffin said. "This was a very difficult decision, but it's a decision made in the best interests for the players and the program for Coach Sarkisian to take over all responsibilities as offensive coordinator for the championship game. This was a very difficult decision, but it's a decision made in the best interests of the program. I look forward to helping Alabama win another championship, and would like to thank Coach Saban, the staff and all the players and fans for the past three years in UA for an unforgettable time and championship run. Roll Tide!" Late to meetings, getting left behind at media day, public “ass-chewing” comments contributed to Lane Kiffin’s exit, sources told @ESPN Lane Kiffin, who made $1.4 million as Alabama's offensive coordinator this season, already earned $224,000 of $250,000 in possible bonuses. Lane Kiffin's guide to burning bridges... pic.twitter.com/yFf41z9xZm
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