Refreshed and successful, Alabama's Lane Kiffin finally greets the press

Alabama's Lane Kiffin addressed the media for the first time before the Crimson Tide's Sugar Bowl matchup against Ohio State, but when will he be a head coach again?

NEW ORLEANS – The cameras crowded around the door as the visiting dignitary emerged from a black SUV. The photographers clicked vociferously and a buzz rippled through the hotel lobby area. In the insulated world of Alabama football, offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin meeting with the media gets similar coverage to a red carpet premiere or a visit from Barack Obama. His performance always receives more intricate reviews than a Broadway play.   

On Monday morning, Kiffin emerged in a dark suit and pinstriped pink tie to speak for the first time since August. He exhibited an enjoyable mix of humility and snark that makes him one of college football’s most fascinating and polarizing personalities. “Must not be a lot going on,” Kiffin cracked to a staffer, bemused by his boy band greeting.

Kiffin’s next hour was quintessential Kiffin. He sounded alternately thoughtful and irreverent, insightful and guarded, grateful and defensive. He described his season at Alabama as offensive coordinator like he was a graduate assistant, so lucky to be there that he should be paying Nick Saban for the experience.  “The phone wasn’t ringing, that’s the reality,” Kiffin said, reflecting on his firing from USC.

No one argues the positive impact this move had on Kiffin's career, which has been scrutinized, criticized and in need of serious rehabilitation. Ultimately, the most fascinating question involving Kiffin’s future will be if he can convince a new athletic director to hire him.

• ELLIS: Looking back at the history of Urban Meyer-Nick Saban rivalry

How close is Kiffin to returning to becoming a head coach? SI.com took an poll of 11 athletic directors about potentially hiring him. Their answers were as varied as you would expect regarding a divisive character like Kiffin. (When I asked Kiffin what he had to do to get a head job as he’d emerged as a divisive figure, he joked, “Divisive, gosh this was going so well.”)

The poll of athletic directors didn’t go so well for Kiffin, at least not for the immediate future. Nine of the 11 athletic directors said they wouldn’t consider him right now. Four of the athletic directors indicated that Kiffin needs more time as Saban’s assistant, citing reasons like his maturity, personality and penchant for losing as a head coach. A sampling of some of the reactions:

AD 1: “In the right situation. He’s a talented coach and should get another head coaching opportunity at some point.”

AD 2: “As a head coach, he had mediocre success at brand name programs. (Truly only one good collegiate season). Too many integrity/character question marks.”

AD 3: “Not a chance. I suspect that he will still be a successful head coach, but the deficiencies and the record to date are real. A single year with Nick is not enough to convince me that he has figured it out. I would take the chance if I were a mid-major willing to rent him for a couple of years.”

• THAMEL: Can Ohio State shock Alabama in the Sugar Bowl?

AD 4: ““He’s hire-able. More so next year than this year. I think he needs to show one more year of maturity and a few more gray hairs. He will be a Big 5 conference coach when he re-brands himself.”

AD 5: “No, I wouldn’t at this time. Two items stand out for me -- [the] way he left Tennessee and lack of success at USC. While he had to deal with sanctions, he also had a great deal of talent.”

In one sense, all this season did was reaffirm what we knew about Kiffin. He’s respected as an Xs and Os coach, play caller and recruiter. Winning also helps, as Kiffin went a mediocre 35-21 with no bowl wins as a college coach in his five seasons between Tennessee and USC. In the NFL, he went 5-15 with the Oakland Raiders.

Alabama's Road to the College Football Playoff

Alabama 33, West Virginia 23 (Aug. 30)

Pouya Dianat/SI

The Crimson Tide won a closer-than-expected opener thanks to a big performance from running back T.J. Yeldon, who rushed for 126 yards with two touchdowns.

Alabama 41, Florida Atlantic 0 (Sept. 6)

Brynn Anderson/AP

Bama blanked the Owls in a game called early because of lightning. That didn’t stop Amari Cooper from going off: He had 13 catches for 189 yards and a touchdown.

Alabama 52, Southern Miss 12 (Sept. 13)

Brynn Anderson/AP

Alabama woke up from a slow start behind a breakout effort from quarterback Blake Sims, who went 12-of-17 passing for 168 yards with two touchdowns.

Alabama 42, Florida 21 (Sept. 20)

Jason Parkhurst/SI

Despite being tied at 21 in the third quarter, Alabama rolled to an easy victory. The Tide rattled off 21 unanswered points behind Sims and Cooper, who connected 10 times for 201 yards and three touchdowns.

Ole Miss 23, Alabama 17 (Oct. 4)

Joe Murphy/Getty Images

The Tide took their lone loss in the season in Oxford, Miss., where the Rebels rallied from an 11-point deficit to win. Alabama’s last-gasp effort fell short when Ole Miss cornerback Senquez Golson intercepted Sims’ fourth-quarter pass.

Alabama 14, Arkansas 13 (Oct. 11)

David Quinn/AP

It wasn’t pretty, but Bama held off Arkansas to avoid consecutive losses. Trey DePriest forced a key fumble in the first quarter, and Landon Collins made a crucial interception in the fourth.

Alabama 59, Texas A&M 0 (Oct. 18)

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

This one was over in a hurry. Alabama obliterated Texas A&M behind a second-quarter onslaught in which the Tide scored 35 points. It was the first time the Aggies were shut out since 2003.

Alabama 34, Tennessee 20 (Oct. 25)

Charles Mitchell/Icon Sportswire

Cooper continued his stellar 2014 season in Knoxville, Tenn. Alabama’s star receiver opened the scoring with touchdown grabs of 80 and 41 yards and finished with 224 yards on the night.

Alabama 20, LSU 13 OT (Nov. 8)

Jonathan Bachman/AP

The Tide seemed dead when LSU had the ball at the six-yard line and 1:13 to go in a 10-10 game. But the Tigers settled for a field goal, and Bama evened it up with three seconds left. Sims hit DeAndrew White for the game-winning score in overtime.

Alabama 25, Mississippi State 20 (Nov. 15)

Simon Bruty/SI

Alabama handed Mississippi State its first loss thanks to a dominant performance from the defense. Bama opened the scoring with a safety and kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone until early in the fourth quarter.

Alabama 48, Western Carolina 14 (Nov. 22)

Brynn Anderson/AP

As expected, Alabama stomped FCS-level Western Carolina. Running back Derrick Henry was the difference-maker, scoring two touchdowns in the second quarter and finishing with 12 carries for 92 yards.

Alabama 55, Auburn 44 (Nov. 29)

Kevin Liles/SI

Auburn seemed in position to upset the Tide after taking a 33-21 lead early in the third quarter. But Bama hung 34 second-half points to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive. Sims was the star: He went 20-of-27 for 312 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions, and rushed for 23 yards with a score.

Alabama 42, Missouri 13 (Dec. 6)

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

There was no drama in the SEC Championship Game: Alabama raced out to a 14-0 lead and never looked back. Henry and Yeldon both found the end zone twice as Alabama secured a spot in the Sugar Bowl.

While Kiffin has plenty to thank Saban for, Saban needs to thank Kiffin for making chicken salad out of an offense with distinct weaknesses. There’s no doubt this has been a mutually beneficial marriage. Let’s hope Kiffin has also thanked agent Jimmy Sexton, who did a masterful job reviving Kiffin’s career behind the scenes. Sexton helped convince Saban, another client, to swipe right on college football’s oddest Tinder match. Who else could have seen this working?

Saban found a coordinator creative enough to mask the Crimson Tide’s glaring offensive weaknesses. Kiffin guided career back-up Blake Sims from liability to asset, spread out the offense to take pressure off a pedestrian offensive line and invented creative ways to get transcendent receiver Amari Cooper the ball.

After Saban, the first call for an athletic director curious about hiring Kiffin will go to USC’s Pat Haden. Kiffin had myriad issues at USC, many of which were self-inflicted. Balls deflated mysteriously on the sideline, numbers changed for special teams advantages and Kiffin was combative with the media. But after firing him at an airport last September, Haden said in a phone interview on Monday: “I would give him a ringing endorsement. I think Lane Kiffin is a terrific football coach.”

• HAMILTON: Alabama's Collins hopes to impress in his home state

One of Kiffin’s biggest issues at USC was, oddly, that he tried too much to act like Saban. When things went cold, he put on a front of “it is what it is” ambivalence. The problem was that he wasn’t smart enough to realize that his aloofness wouldn't be tolerated without consistent winning.

Haden described Kiffin as a deft play caller, relentless recruiter and committed to academics. He also said that he found Kiffin to be compliant with NCAA rules. That assertion that may make SEC commissioner Mike Slive -- for whom Kiffin was a constant headache -- spit out his coffee. But Kiffin did guide USC back from the NCAA sanctions of the Pete Carroll era. Haden summed up Kiffin’s coaching future this way: “He’s going to get more and more mature.”

Kiffin, 39, revealed a lighter side on Monday, including saying that Saban once wondered to him, “How did you get higher on the ‘Most Hated’ list than I did?”

Kiffin’s career goal now is to be a viable head coaching candidate again. By working with Saban, producing big numbers on offense (Top 20 nationally with 37.1 points per game) and staying out of the media, his rehab will continue. Realistically, he’s probably two years away. One solid media appearance can’t take away his spotted reputation. That may not fade away until an athletic director picks up the phone to hire Kiffin, bringing a whole lot of history with it. And if Alabama tops Kiffin’s old rival, Urban Meyer, be ready for more waiting cameras when Kiffin speaks before the national title game.