In the words of R&B legend Keith Sweat, ‘Something, something just ain’t right’. That was the phrase uttered most by Bama fans on Saturday, despite the 24-7 win over Washington in the Peach Bowl. Something was not right with Bama’s offense. That is taking nothing away from the Washington Huskies defense. They played spectacular. But, something just wasn’t right. And, you’re crazy if you think Nick Saban wasn’t going to get to the root of it. The root of the problem in this case seemed to be Lane Kiffin. That’s why Sark in, Kiffin out makes a lot of sense.
Sure, Jalen Hurts had a subpar performance throwing the football. But, there was something deeper than that wrong with Bama offensively. They just were not in sync. There were penalties, and players not lined up correctly, and questionable play-calling. Fair or unfair, the offensive coordinator gets the blame for this more times than not. This is especially so, when that offensive coordinator is now the head coach at a different school.
Kiffin, is now the head coach at Florida Atlantic University. Being stretched between Bama’s national title run and his new gig in Boca Raton cannot be easy. Bama played as undisciplined a game as I’ve seen them play offensively during the Saban era. And, I’ve seen all of them. Penalties killed numerous Alabama drives. Questionable play-calling was clearly another problem. You just have to wonder if Kiffin not being fully there for the Tide caused a lack of focus.
Nick Saban is trying to make sure that lack of focus isn’t repeated Monday night against Clemson. Of course, with any move of this magnitude things could go terribly wrong. Is Steve Sarkisian ready to handle a situation quite like this?
Sarkisian, was hired by Saban earlier this season as an offensive analyst. So, he knows the offense. It came as no surprise that Sarkisian was promoted to offensive coordinator once Kiffin accepted the FAU job. But, Sark wasn’t supposed to officially take over until after the College Football Playoff. Sarkisian, is a guy who’s had problems in the past that were well-documented. Despite that fact, Saban is making the right call here.
While, Sarkisian will be a new voice in freshman Jalen Hurts’ ear on gameday, it’s in the best interest of the Tide. If, Bama had played Clemson this past Saturday, there would be no title game to prepare for. The Tigers are very strong defensively, especially in the front seven. Just ask Ohio State, whom the Tigers just shut out in Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl 31-0. This week was going to be a very trying week for Bama to get ready for Clemson anyway. With Sark in, Kiffin out, Bama now has their OC completely focused on the job at hand. And, that’s beating the Clemson Tigers in Tampa and repeating as national champs.
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