The Unexpected Alabama QB Who Quietly Rescued Lane Kiffin’s Coaching Career Revealed

Kiffin said before he coached Sims, he was fixated on the pro-style offense for his quarterbacks, but that changed.

His evolution as a coach and offensive guru helped him when it came to coaching the likes of former Rebels QB Jaxson Dart, who became the No. 1 draft pick of the New York Giants.When Kiffin was fired from USC, it was Saban who hired him as his offensive coordinator, and from there, Kiffin became a hot name again in college coaching, landing eventually in Oxford, Mississippi.Lane Kiffin’s journey through the coaching ranks is nothing short of a rollercoaster, and while many know about the pivotal role Nick Saban played in resurrecting his career after the USC firing, there’s another game-changer often flying under the radar — Blake Sims. The former Alabama QB didn’t just light up the field in 2014; he fundamentally transformed Kiffin’s approach to offense and quarterback play. It’s wild to think how Sims’ dynamic dual-threat style nudged Kiffin away from his old-school pro-style obsession, eventually shaping the rise of Ole Miss’s own Jaxson Dart into a top NFL prospect. The ripple effects of one player’s influence? Truly remarkable. Curious about the full story behind this coaching renaissance and the impact of Sims’s game? LEARN MORE.Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin has often credited former head coach Nick Saban for saving his career.  Sims proved to Lane Kiffin that you can still have a proficient offense with a dual-threat QB.  Now, having a dual-threat QB is the norm in not only the NFL but college football these days, too. “I just want to thank you,” Kiffin told Sims, via ESPN’s Chris Low. “You probably don’t know how much you helped my career.“But there is also another person Kiffin says also helped save him, and that’s former Crimson Tide QB Blake Sims.He also threw that season for over 3400 yards, ran for 250 yards, and had a total of 35 touchdowns that season. Last season, Dart passed for over 4200 yards and threw for 29 touchdowns while rushing for nearly 500 yards. But Dart may not have had the career he would have had at Ole Miss had it not been for Blake Sims.Kiffin said Tuesday at SEC Media Days that it was Sims who made him rethink the quarterback position.
 Sims was the starting QB for the Crimson Tide during the 2014 season, where he led the Tide to a 12-2 record, an SEC Championship, and the College Football Playoff.