Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
By Chris Marler
Between jaded exes, literally and figuratively via fanbases, and his polarizing personality, there are a ton of stories about LSU’s new head coach Lane Kiffin.
Some are good, some are bad. Some are true, some we are hoping aren’t true. Either way the 30 for 30 is going to be incredible when this is all said and done. It got me thinking about my favorite Kiffin story, and what it means specifically for his time at LSU.
Let’s start by saying this was told to me a little over 12 years ago and not something I was in the room for, but to this day, it’s something that is almost too Kiffin-coded to not be true.
In late 2013, Alabama football had been shaken to its proverbial core. That was thanks to a season ending loss that will be played on repeat for the next century or more – the Kick Six. After the devastating loss knocked Alabama out of the national championship picture, it became clear to Nick Saban that some offensive changes needed to be made.
Nick Saban never rested on past success. Even with a top-20 offense, a Heisman runner-up and three titles in four years, he saw cracks forming and knew change was necessary.
In the fourth quarter of that historic Iron Bowl, Alabama had every chance to put Auburn away and continue their undefeated season. They had the ball five times inside of Auburn’s 30-yard line and never came away with any points.
The offense, as a whole, felt like it shut down the entire second half, and the conversations between Saban and then offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier grew extremely tense throughout the second half.
After the season, during bowl prep for their Sugar Bowl match-up with Oklahoma, Saban brought in an offensive analyst to help discuss some of the shortcomings and miscues.
Insert: Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin had just been fired earlier that season from Southern Cal, and left on a tarmac after an inexcusable loss to Arizona State. The beginning of the most odd couple coaching relationship in college football started soon after.
Ole Miss Head Football Coach, Lane Kiffin, discusses his professional low after getting fired at USC.
Your role is what you’re responsible for, but your identity is who you are when the role is gone.
We are all just renting our jobs, roles, and titles. Our value as a human… pic.twitter.com/V7l8mI6A12
— Zach Brandon (@MVP_Mindset) April 23, 2025
The offensive coaches spent hours in meeting rooms breaking down their philosophies, reviewing film and analyzing what went right, plenty did before Chris Davis’ moment in Jordan-Hare, and what didn’t. After it all, Saban turned to Kiffin and asked for his thoughts.
Kiffin walked up to a white board and wrote five numbers on it: 2, 4, 9, 27 and 88.
“These are your best players. Get them the ball. It’s simple.”
Groundbreaking stuff. Deandrew White, TJ Yeldon, Amari Cooper, Derrick Henry and OJ Howard were the best players on Alabama’s offense? Yeah, duh Lane. Four of those guys were former five-stars and two became first round draft picks. What’s your point?
The point was that first year offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier didn’t seem to understand how good his own offense could be by just feeding those five the ball.
After all, Amari Cooper’s sophomore season was a pretty big slump in comparison to the previous year when he had 14 more receptions, seven more touchdowns, and nearly 300 more yards receiving. Deandrew White only had 32 receptions on the year despite 16.7 ypc. And, don’t even get started on Derrick Henry and OJ Howard. The two five-star freshmen were nowhere to be found for most of the season, as Howard had just 14 catches despite averaging 19.2 ypc and the future NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Henry had only 35 carries despite averaging nearly 11 yards per carry.
It wasn’t rocket science.
Lane Kiffin will return to Alabama next season as offensive coordinator. (via @ClowESPN) pic.twitter.com/vUhDcZez0L
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 24, 2015
After that meeting Nussmeier, Alabama and Saban parted ways. Then, the unthinkable happened and Kiffin became Alabama’s new offensive coordinator. What happened next?
All those guys he mentioned in that late December meeting nine months prior got the ball. They got the ball a lot.
Amari Cooper caught 124 passes (79 more than the previous season), 16 touchdowns, and over 1,700 yards receiving. That was nearly 1,000 more than the previous year. He set an SEC record for receptions in a season and became a Heisman finalist.
Derrick Henry got way more involved in 2014 as well, and had over 1,000 yards of offense and 13 touchdowns. A year later he would win the Heisman after racking up 395 carries, 2219 yards, and 28 touchdowns.
That same year OJ Howard was the MVP of the national championship game hauling in five catches for 209 yards and two touchdowns.
Amari Cooper was hilariously unfair pic.twitter.com/7iVIm5gHa2
— Sidelines – Bama (@SSN_Alabama) July 16, 2023
It was simple. Kiffin got his playmakers the ball.
He’s done that everywhere he’s been ever since, and he will continue to do so at LSU.
Will he win a national championship? I don’t know. I do know that guys like Trey’Dez Green, Harlem Berry, and several others are about to have way more impact, involvement and productivity than they have so far in their careers.
It’s that simple.
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