Former USC coach Lane Kiffin, fired midseason after a 62-41 loss to Arizona State, will interview at Alabama for its vacant offensive coordinator position as early as Thursday, according to cbssports.com.
Last night, Alabama's second-year offensive coordinator, Doug Nussmeier, reportedly accepted the same position at the University of Michigan. Kiffin's name was immediately linked to the Alabama vacancy in part because of his week-long visit to the Tuscaloosa, Ala., campus during the Crimson Tide's preparations for the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma.
But while Kiffin is by far the most recognizable name linked to the Alabama OC vacancy, other possibilities who have worked with coach Nick Saban in the past figure to make more sense. Arizona Cardinals assistant coach Freddie Kitchens, who was a graduate assistant under Saban for a year at LSU, is a candidate for the job, according to al.com. Kitchens quarterbacked the Crimson Tide in the mid-1990s and is also a close friend of UA defensive coordinator Kirby Smart.
Alabama receivers coach Billy Napier, who has experience in the role having been Clemson's offensive coordinator, and Chicago Bears wide receivers coach Mike Groh, who coached the same position at Alabama and was at one point the offensive coordinator at Virginia, are also possibilities for the Alabama OC job.
Kiffin's coaching career, meanwhile, is in need of a little resuscitation.
Having been fired from two of his last three head coaching jobs (Oakland Raiders, Southern Cal), and villainized most by the fans of the team he walked away from (Tennessee), it stands to reason that his next stop will be as an assistant, where he was most successful at USC from 2001-2006. Kiffin's agent, Jimmy Sexton, has a reputation for pulling some extraordinary strings at this time of year to help his coaching clients move forward in the industry, or in Kiffin's case, stop moving backward. Sexton also happens to be Saban's agent, so it wouldn't be at all surprising if Sexton had something to do with Kiffin being linked to the Tide's OC job, for image repair if nothing else.
Saban will be looking to hire his fourth offensive coordinator at the school.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
