In August, Lane Kiffin spoke to the reporters for the last time this season. He knew better than to give them any ammo.

“We already met this morning to make sure I didn’t say anything that would be on the ticker today,” Kiffin said that day, referencing a chat with Nick Saban he had before meeting the media.

Kiffin didn’t say anything the rest of the season. He didn’t have to; Alabama’s offense did all the talking needed.

Alabama looked far different on the offensive side in its first year under Kiffin than in any other year. The results aren’t starkly different — the Crimson Tide averaged about one point less per game in 2014 than 2013 — but the way they got there is much different. Alabama averaged about 45 more yards per game, threw 50 more passes than a year ago and ran nine more plays per game.

For that, Kiffin gets the credit. He’s been a silent assassin, muzzled by Alabama policy all year. Throwing his hands up to prematurely celebrate Blake Sims touchdown bombs in back-to-back weeks is about all we got from Kiffin this year.

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Even after Alabama captured the SEC crown, Kiffin had nothing for the media. He told a Tuscaloosa beat reporter that he’d been told not to talk, but it sure looked like he wanted no part of the celebration in any way. After the game, as Alabama was awarded the conference championship trophy, Kiffin stood what might as well have been a mile away from the scrum. Even as he deserved as much praise and credit as anyone on staff, he stayed away from the spotlight.

Is that a sign that Kiffin has somehow “learned his lesson” from previous flaps where he got himself in trouble with his words? Who knows and, frankly, who cares?

Kiffin’s hiring back in January 2014 raised a few eyebrows, wondering how he would fit it at Alabama as a member of Saban’s staff. Some might say Kiffin ended up having it easy, just having to call the plays while letting the rest of Alabama’s talented staff work its magic. Saban told the media he got exactly what he expected out of Kiffin: a very good play-caller who did a great job working with the players.

“I don’t think anybody else expected what I expected,” Saban said on Friday before the title game.

While Saban got what he wanted, no one else did. Sure, there were a few sideline huddles where it looked like Saban was poking his head in to see what Kiffin was talking about. There were glares on the sideline, played over and over again on television, and a few moments when Saban griped a bit about the offense being too pass-heavy.

There was never any controversy, though, just Kiffin calling the plays, and the Alabama offense going out and executing. He didn’t have to say a word; an SEC title and the most diverse offense of the Saban era said it all.