Kiffin not going to Houston is a good thing
Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin will have to wait a little longer before becoming a head coach again, after Houston tabbed offensive coordinator Major Applewhite as its new head coach.
Though the rejection of losing out on a head coaching job has to hurt, it's actually a blessing for Kiffin, as the Houston job was not a good fit for the 41-year old.
Texas football is a beast in and of itself. Things are just different in the Lone Star State. It can consume and swallow you up in the blink of an eye.
It is a place where high school stadiums rival those of college and professional teams.
Former Texas head coach Charlie Strong learnt firsthand how difficult it can be as an outsider, when upon his hiring, prominent Longhorns booster Red McCombs disapproved of the decision just days later.
"I think the whole thing is a bit sideways. I don’t have any doubt that Charlie is a fine coach," McCombs said. "I think he would make a great position coach or maybe a coordinator.
“But I don’t believe he belongs at what should be one of the three most powerful university programs in the world right now down at UT-Austin. I don’t think it adds up."
Kiffin has no ties to the state of Texas. He was born in Nebraska, went to school at Fresno State, and coached in California, Colorado, Florida, Tennessee, and Alabama.
High school coaches in Texas are a very proud bunch and have egos that need to be rubbed. As an outsider, Kiffin would be canoeing upstream without a paddle trying to forge relationships with high school coaches and recruits - the lifeline of any program.
Also, Houston is not a Power 5 program, no matter how many quotes and soundbites Houston billionaire Tilman Feritta gives.
The program will always be viewed as a stepping stone up to the big leagues. Even Chris Petersen was eventually lured to the big boys' table when he went from Boise State to Washington.
A sticking point in contract negotiations was the massive buyout clause Fertitta was insistent on having added, according to Dan Wolken of USA Today.
This would potentially dissuade any coach of wanting to leave for a bigger job just a few years after being hired.
For Kiffin, who has coached the Oakland Raiders as well as at Tennessee and USC - in other words, at the highest level possible at both the professional and college level - being tied down to a Group of 5 program at his age and with his resume would not be attractive, and would potentially hinder his long-term career growth.
That fact, coupled with being an outsider, would have made Kiffin and Houston an odd match.
After repairing his image during the past three years under Nick Saban with the Crimson Tide, Kiffin's next head coaching job is a crucial one for his career.
He'll have to be selective and find the right fit - something Houston was not.