Can you imagine leaving a team before the playoffs?
But why does anyone think this leopard ever changed his spots?
I'm sorry, folks, I've NEVER gotten the Kiffin love or the idea he's some sort of offensive guru.
Alabama Offensive PPG
2010: 35.7 (Shark Porn)
2011: 34.8 (Shark Porn)
2012: 38.7 (Nussmeier)
2013: 38.2 (Nussmeier)
2014: 36.9 (Kiffin)
2015: 35.1 (Kiffin)
2016: 38.8 (Kiffin mostly)
2017: 37.1 (Dabol)
2018: 45.6 (Locksley) - third among all teams
2019: 47.2 (Sark)
2020: 48.5 (Sark)
2021: 39.9 (O'Brien) - 6th among all teams
2022: 41.1 (O'Brien) - 4th
Now....SOMEBODY show me the so-called "offensive genius" here, please.....and how it's Kiffin......
SURE, the 2016 number is the highest, but remember a few things:
a) the ranking was 16th overall in 2016, but the much lower number in 2011 was 20th, so it's not THAT much
b) those are not OFFENSIVE PPG, they are TEAM PPG and thus include TDs scored by the defense and special teams.
c) the 2017 team (with fewer NOTs) was actually 15th overall and thus higher.
And I think we all remember that the 2016 team scored FIFTEEN NOTs in 15 games, which would drive down the points numbers on the OFFENSE. That defense was so good that Alabama would have been bowl eligible had their offense not gained a single yard all season. (of course you'd have to account for fatigue so it wouldn't work that way).
yes, I know the objection: "but the offensive misses a time on the field if the defense scores." True.
But again - how does that turn Kiffin into an OFFENSIVE genius?
If you go by dry stats, Bill O'Brien is a better OC than Kiffin is, and everyone wanted him gone. O'Brien ranks better both compared to all teams AND by ppg. Sure, O'Brien had a better QB, but I'm not sure how that makes Kiffin some sort of guru, either. Most teams nowadays have pretty good QBs.
I just have never seen anything that suggests this guy is the next Bill Walsh as an OC, and his character flaws give me considerable pause of ever wanting him to coach at the University of Alabama.
ETA: before it even becomes necessary to say, NO, Bill O'Brien is not a better OC than Kiffin. But Kiffin is also not the light years better that his reputation among fans suggests, either.