Most coaches work their way up from college coordinator to head coach before vaulting to the same level in the NFL. Kiffin, of course, has seen his career go the opposite direction. After stints leading the Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Volunteers, and USC Trojans, Kiffin famously rehabbed his image at the Nick Saban School for Misfit Coaches, pulling the Alabama offense from a punishing, pro-style attack into the modern age by implementing many of the spread tactics his boss had so often publicly decried.
Following a tumultuous divorce with Saban at the end of the 2016 season, Kiffin landed at Florida Atlantic University, taking the downtrodden Owls to an 11-3 record in his first season on campus.