• Nick Saban hired Lane Kiffin in 2014 to modernize Alabama's offense. It worked. This season, the Crimson Tide offense looks stale under Tommy Rees.
  • Dan Mullen would have been a more traditional Nick Saban coordinator hire. Mullen is rooted at ESPN, though, and Saban hired a coordinator whose Notre Dame's offenses regressed.
  • Lane Kiffin is reverent of his former boss. He says Nick Saban helped him at a challenging time in his career.

Hiring Lane Kiffin still stands as one of Nick Saban’s shrewdest moves, and he’s made a lot of them. In hindsight, Saban’s decision to bring in Kiffin to run Alabama’s offense ahead of the 2014 season looks even smarter.

Alabama’s 2015 team won the national championship with Kiffin calling the offense. Kiffin transitioned the Crimson Tide into the modern era and made Alabama an inviting destination for quarterbacks. In turn, Alabama became a springboard for Kiffin to resume his head coaching career.

Oh, how the Crimson Tide could use Kiffin’s ingenuity and deft hand with quarterbacks now.

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Alabama’s offense has been so bad the past two weeks, I’m imagining Saban entering loving grandfather mode, wrapping Kiffin in a hug and saying, "Sorry I ever yelled at you, you wonderful lad."

They’ll meet again Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, CBS) at Bryant-Denny Stadium, where Kiffin’s No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels (3-0) will face No. 12 Alabama (2-1).

Is Lane Kiffin next former Nick Saban assistant to beat Alabama?

Unfortunately for Alabama, Kiffin’s return to Tuscaloosa is a pitstop. Ole Miss backed up the Brink's truck to fend off Auburn’s pursuit of Kiffin last fall and retain a coach whose best victory at Ole Miss remains a 2021 bowl triumph over Indiana. A victory against Saban would be a signature moment for Kiffin, a chance to prove he can elevate the Rebels beyond their status as a pesky welterweight.

Saban used to have a hold over his departed assistants that seemed almost supernatural. Some assistants left to become mediocre head coaches. Others left to become successful head coaches. Either way, Saban’s former aides would bend the knee to their former boss, both on and off the field. Saban went undefeated in his first 24 head-to-head matchups against former assistants.

Then Jimbo Fisher decided he’d had enough of the reverence. In 2021, Fisher promised to give Saban a spanking and carried it out on a fall night in College Station, Texas. He later called Saban a narcissistic false god.

Saban lost his invincibility cloak, and Kirby Smart and Steve Sarkisian joined the parade to beat Saban, although they did so with more class than Fisher.

Kiffin keeps coming up short, though. His Rebels tested Alabama in 2020 and 2022, but they fizzled in the closing minutes.

Until now, part of Saban’s genius was hiring coordinators who helped make him look good. No shame in that, by the way. Part of good leadership is making good hires.

The more Smart dominates at Georgia, the more his effect as Saban’s defensive coordinator during Alabama’s dynastic rise becomes evident.

Defenses won championships at the start of Saban’s reign. After the sport shifted to favor quarterbacks, tempo and offensive ingenuity, Saban knew enough to know he needed a new direction. Offensive minds like Kiffin and later Sarkisian – not to mention an unprecedented run of Alabama quarterback talent – helped keep the Tide in power.

That history of coordinators is what made Saban’s offseason hire of Tommy Rees look so mundane.

Nick Saban could use Lane Kiffin's play-calling ability

A more traditional Saban move would have been rejuvenating the career of a Dan Mullen type, a fired coach but proven offensive engineer. Mullen enjoys his gig at ESPN, though, and Saban hired an offensive coordinator whose infatuation is with tight ends and whose Notre Dame offenses got worse each year.

Rees got his hands in Alabama's dough and baked a stale product. Alabama's goal to reinstall bully ball produced boring ball. The Tide tried three quarterbacks in three games. Now it plans to recycle Jalen Milroe as the starter.

A forward-thinking play-caller like Kiffin would better incorporate Milroe’s best asset – his wheels. He’d simplify the offense for a quarterback who struggles to read the field. He’d incorporate tempo to put the defense on its heels and help a struggling offensive line.

Under Rees, many of Milroe’s rushing yards in two starts came off scrambles, rather than designed runs. He threw two interceptions into double coverage in a loss to Texas. Alabama’s offensive line is infirm. Milroe didn't help himself against Texas. He's also received little help.

Meanwhile, Kiffin’s Rebels rank fourth in the nation in scoring, and Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart leads all SEC quarterbacks for rushing yards.

A coordinator like Kiffin would be a godsend for Alabama. Heck, even Brian Daboll or Bill O’Brien calling plays would be an upgrade over these past two games, and John Parker Wilson could give this crop of Alabama quarterbacks a clinic.

Kiffin remains steadfastly loyal to Saban. He credits Saban with bringing his career back from the abyss after Southern Cal literally left Kiffin on the tarmac with his career compass twirling.

"He really helped me at a challenging time in my life," Kiffin said Monday.

Kiffin makes sure his old boss suffers from no shortage of rat poison. He heaps praise on Saban and rallies to his support whenever someone criticizes him or suggests his reign is finished.

As time passed, Kiffin said, he’s even more appreciative of what he gained from Saban.

Saban benefited, too. Never has that been more evident.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

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