Lane Kiffin Introduced at FAU

Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin was introduced in Boca Raton, Florida as the new head coach at Florida Atlantic University. He is the schools fifth head coach in history and is succeeding Charlie Partridge after he went 3-9 in every season of his tenure. Kiffin said he would’ve returned to Alabama had a deal with FAU not been reached, also noting that FAU provided him with a “unique” opportunity.

“I’m very grateful to Coach [Nick] Saban,” Kiffin said of his opportunity at Alabama on Tuesday. “My phone was not ringing very much at the time after USC, and that was a very humbling experience after being let go there and to go through that process. You start calling a lot of people that don’t call you back all of a sudden, and you realize things about people.”

This will be Kiffin’s first head coaching job since USC in 2013, where he went 28-15. He previously coached the Oakland Raiders in 2007-08, going 5-15, and Tennessee in 2009, going 7-6. Kiffin spoke on those previous experiences, saying:

“I was so young as a head coach, I was just figuring things out one day at a time instead of having a plan. Coach [Pete] Carroll said he’s been fired twice, and then he figured it out … and he stopped trying to be someone else.”

Kiffin met with FAU players on Monday night and also didn’t rule out luring members of Alabama’s coaching staff to make the leap to FAU. Kiffin will also talk to high school coaches to help fill his staff.

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