Alabama

Can Lane Kiffin be Alabama football’s Nick Saban successor? He’s expressed doubts

Published

2 years ago

January 10, 2024

Can Lane Kiffin be Alabama football’s Nick Saban successor? He’s expressed doubts

OXFORD — Nick Saban is retiring as Alabama football’s coach after 17 seasons and seven total national championships. And fourth-year Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin will be one of the names thrown around when it comes to Saban’s replacement.

Kiffin, 48, served as offensive coordinator under Saban in Tuscaloosa for three seasons, winning a pair of national titles before renewing his head coaching career at FAU in 2017.

But, among the national media reporting on the situation in the immediate aftermath, Kiffin’s name isn’t at the top of the list. Action Network insider Brett McMurphy touted Oregon coach Dan Lanning as Alabama’s most likely target. ESPN reporter Pete Thamel listed Lanning, Kalen DeBoer, Dabo Swinney, James Franklin, Mike Norvell and Marcus Freeman as possible targets.

Kiffin himself has expressed doubts when it comes to replacing Saban, for whom he has maintained great respect since leaving Alabama.

“What could you possibly do right if you don’t win the national championship every year?” Kiffin told USA TODAY’s Blake Toppmeyer in 2022 . “‘You’re going to follow Nick Saban at Alabama?’ No, that would not be a good decision for anyone.”

Why Alabama football would make sense for Lane Kiffin

The pull of the Alabama job can come down to one word: Ceiling.

The Crimson Tide has won six national championships since 2009. It has played for three more. Ole Miss just finished its first 11-win season ever. Alabama has won 11 games in every season since 2010.

Since 2011, Alabama has finished atop 247Sports’ recruiting class rankings more than half the time. The level of player consistently available to the Crimson Tide is different than what Kiffin has access to at Ole Miss.

Comments Kiffin made after the Rebels got pummeled this season by Georgia, a program with a similar blue-chip ratio to Alabama’s, are relevant here.

“We would have to recruit at a better level, do a better job of recruiting,” Kiffin said when asked what the Rebels have to do to compete with Georgia.

Kiffin’s familiarity with the program is certainly a factor as well. And, though Kiffin is one of the best-compensated coaches in the sport, earning over $9 million in 2023 once bonuses are considered, a switch to the Crimson Tide would almost certainly come with a considerable pay rise.

Why Alabama football wouldn’t make sense for Lane Kiffin

All of the points above about Alabama’s ability to require talent at a level Ole Miss can’t belong to a different era of college football.

Alabama, before NIL and the transfer portal changed the sport beyond measure, operated at a level reachable by a select few. Have those changes, and the impending 12-team playoff, made the game’s top tier more accessible?

Ole Miss intends to find out.

The Rebels have one of the best NIL infrastructures in college athletics. And it has translated into sustained success in the transfer portal, culminating in Ole Miss’ best class yet this offseason.

Even so, it’s certainly more difficult to win at the highest level at Ole Miss than it is at Alabama. But that fact comes with intense pressure to deliver. At Ole Miss, Kiffin can sustain an 8-5 season like the one he endured in 2022. He’d lead every hot seat list on the internet if he went 8-5 early in his Alabama tenure.

There are family factors at play for Kiffin in Oxford, too. Even if he covets the Alabama job, it might make more sense to wait.

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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Alabama

Jacob Crews scores 20 for Missouri in 85-77 win over Alabama State

Published

2 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Jacob Crews scores 20 for Missouri in 85-77 win over Alabama State

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Jacob Crews scored 20, and Anthony Robinson II added 19 in Missouri’s 85-77 win over Alabama State on Thursday night.

Crews shot 7 of 9 from the field, including 6 of 8 from the 3-point arc. Mark Mitchell added 15 points for Missouri (9-2), and Sebastian Mack added 10.

The Tigers had a 15-0 run in the first half, heading into the locker room up 52-39. Alabama State was held scoreless over a 4:19 drought in the middle of the second half to open a 9-0 run for the Tigers. The Hornets (3-8) responded with their own 10-0 run to bring the game within eight, 74-62. The Tigers regained control, though, to keep their eight-point lead the rest of the game, handing Alabama State their fourth loss in a row.

The Tigers shot 65% (33 of 51). Both teams shot 50% from the free-throw line.

Alabama State outscored Missouri in the final period, 38-33. Asjon Anderscon scored 23 for the Hornets, leading all players in scoring.

Up next

Missouri hosts Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 14.

Alabama State travels to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats on Dec. 17.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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Alabama

Katie Windham Highlights Alabama Areas of Improvement on The Joe Gaither Show

Published

15 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Katie Windham Highlights Alabama Areas of Improvement on The Joe Gaither Show

Let’s crank up a Thursday edition of “The Joe Gaither Show on BamaCentral” with Mason Woods and Katie Windham as we start getting ready for next week’s College Football Playoff game between Alabama and Oklahoma. Windham detailed how the Crimson Tide can improve over the next few weeks, we discuss the team’s health and look back at our last road trip to Norman. The show then discusses the Heisman Trophy finalists before addressing a Kalen DeBoer coaching rumor.

The program opens by power ranking the holidays before discussing Windham’s three areas the Crimson Tide can improve over the next week. Our trio picks the easiest area the team can improve and how Alabama must perform in Norman. Windham details our last trip to Oklahoma as we go down memory lane to the Sooners’ 24-3 victory last season.

The show continues on by getting Windham’s thoughts on Alabama’a College Football Playoff selection and if the Crimson Tide actually deserved its place in the field. She brings up a unique aspect of Alabama’s blowout loss in the SEC Championship and how it played into the program’s inclusion in the College Football Playoffs.

We move from next week’s game into a small discussion on Notre Dame’s reaction of being left out of the field and how it relates to Alabama’s future home-and-home dates with the Fighting Irish. Will the two esteemed programs still face off in a few years?

The show heads into the only college football action of the weekend by highlighting the strong Heisman Trophy finalist field. Who brings home the bronze statue?

Lastly, we spend the final bit of the show talking about Michigan firing Sherrone Moore and the reports of the Wolverines considering persuing Kalen DeBeor for their next head coach. Will DeBoer leave Tuscaloosa for Ann Arbor?

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Alabama

New Alabama law raises penalties for porch piracy

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

New Alabama law raises penalties for porch piracy

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – As holiday deliveries ramp up, a new Alabama law aims to deter package theft by raising penalties for so-called “porch piracy.” The law, which went into effect on October 1, 2025, makes repeated package theft a felony and can carry prison sentences of up to 10 years in the most serious cases.

What changed

Previously, many package thefts in Alabama were charged as misdemeanor theft because the value of individual stolen packages often fell below felony thresholds. Under the new law however, lawmakers established penalties that focus on the number of homes targeted rather than the dollar value of items stolen:

Stealing from 1 to 9 homes: most serious misdemeanor
Stealing from 10 to 29 homes: felony
Stealing from 30 or more homes: can result in up to 10 years in prison

The law also increases penalties if stolen packages are used to commit identity theft or fraud. In addition, anyone who knowingly receives packages stolen by a porch pirate can be charged under the new rules.

Lawmakers weigh in

Senator April Weaver, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the change was meant to protect Alabama families during the holidays.

“It was really important to protect the people not only in my district but throughout the state of Alabama and to make sure their hard-earned money is going to their children’s Christmas,” she said.

On camera, Senator Weaver added with holiday humor, “It means the Grinch may have stolen Christmas in Whoville, but if he does it in Alabama, he’ll have plenty of time in state prison for his heart to grow three sizes.”

What police recommend if your package is stolen

If you discover a stolen package, law enforcement recommends:

Report the theft to police immediately.
Preserve any doorbell or surveillance footage that may show the theft.
Contact the delivery company right away to report the missing item.
Consider requiring a signature on delivery to reduce the risk of theft.

The law went into effect on October 1, 2025; this December marks the first holiday season it is in effect. Alabama is now one of more than a dozen states that have passed laws specifically targeting package theft. Supporters say the law sends a stronger message that porch piracy will no longer be treated as a minor offense.

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