The 2014 Alabama football team featured a couple of cast-offs in prominent roles.
First, there was Lane Kiffin, the controversial Offensive Coordinator hire by Nick Saban that offseason. The immature and brash Kiffin was a twice-fired head coach: once by the NFL's Oakland Raiders, and most recently by USC, which happened midseason and infamously on the tarmac following a Trojans loss.
Kiffin was considered almost untouchable in coaching circles. But Saban wanted someone to modernize his offense in Tuscaloosa, thinking Alabama was falling behind the times. He turned to Kiffin, who embarked on a three-year run as the OC, culminating in three consecutive SEC Championships and playoff bids, including the 2015 National Championship.