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The players had nothing to do with Lane Kiffin’s early exit as Alabama’s offensive coordinator one week prior to the national championship game against Clemson.
That’s what Cam Robinson said during media day on Saturday morning, refuting any rumors:
Bama OT Cam Robinson says rumors players told Saban after Peach Bowl offensive setup under Kiffin wasn't working "completely false." #cfp pic.twitter.com/MkbkkeaWxN
— Scott Rabalais (@RabalaisAdv) January 7, 2017
Alabama beat Washington in the Peach Bowl semifinals last week, 24-7, but finished the game with just 326 total yards of offense (57 passing) and 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) on third down.
Coach Nick Saban announced not long after that Kiffin would step down as play-caller effective immediately, citing the difficulty of juggling two jobs at once, as the 41-year-old had also been performing some duties with his new role as head coach for FAU.
“We appreciate all that Lane has done for our football program over the last three years,” Saban said. “We sat down following the Washington game and talked about the time demands of managing both jobs, and we recognized that it is best for our players, and for Lane, that we allow him to turn his full attention to his new head coaching role at FAU.”
The Crimson Tide (14-0) are looking for their second straight College Football Playoff national championship and Saban’s fifth with the program.
With former USC and Washington coach Steve Sarkisian being promoted as the new OC, Alabama will take on Clemson (13-1) in a title bout rematch Monday evening at 8 p.m. ET in Tampa, Fl.
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
