Alabama’s offense is going to be different in 2015. The triggerman for the most prolific offense in school history is gone, as is the rare talent at receiver that served as the main offensive hub.

Those losses will matter less now that we know the mind that unlocked their talent is coming back. Lane Kiffin’s decision to turn down a chance at an NFL coordinator job is good news for Alabama’s offense.

Just a quick rehashing of what Kiffin accomplished with the Crimson Tide offense in 2014: He revamped an offense that was cycling in a quarterback, Blake Sims, that had played two other positions in his career and had been nothing but a garbage-time hand-off specialist in his limited time under center before last season. Instead of trying to hide Sims’ deficiencies, Kiffin played up his strengths.

The first-year coordinator sped up the offense, instituting regular no-huddle action that was previously a novelty in Tuscaloosa. The quicker offense let Sims play free and easy, matching his skill set brilliantly.

Kiffin has a history of maximizing his receivers’ talent, but he took it to another level with Amari Cooper in 2014. He used the NFL-bound junior in every way imaginable: short screens, patterns over the middle, deep routes up the seam and down the sideline, coming out of the backfield, etc.

Cooper’s brilliance and Kiffin’s play-calling genius combined yielded unheard of results; Cooper smashed every Alabama receiving record in sight and earned a trip to Manhattan as a Heisman finalist, the first receiver invited to the ceremony in more than a decade.

Now, those two are gone, as are prolific running back T.J. Yeldon, the Tide’s next two leading receivers and three offensive linemen, but the framework that Kiffin set up remains. That continuity is going to be crucial if the Tide hope to replicate, or at least come close to its offensive success from 2014.

When Jacob Coker transferred from Florida State a year ago, many assumed he’d be handed the reins to the offense immediately. That didn’t happen, as Sims outplayed Coker in preseason practices and picked up Kiffin’s offense much quicker.

If Coker is to be the guy in 2015 — again an assumption many have taken on — having to pick up another new playbook wouldn’t help the guy. Learning three offensive systems in three years might be good if you want to go into coaching down the line, but it’s not exactly ideal for helping a college quarterback find success on the field.

Fortunately, Coker will get a chance to run an offense he spent a year on the bench learning instead of having to adapt to a new scheme on the fly.

While the Crimson Tide have to replace their top three receivers, that shouldn’t be an issue for Kiffin’s offense. In his three-plus years at Southern Cal, Kiffin had three different leading receivers. While his top dogs in 2011 and 2012, Marqise Lee and Robert Woods — both NFL talents who had more than 100 catches in their respective leading seasons — are more indicative of what Kiffin can do with a star, we can look at 2010 for what Kiffin can do with a less-experienced receiving corps.

In that season, with a freshman Woods and an unheralded cast of characters, the Trojans still threw for more than 3,000 yards, and a sophomore Matt Barkley threw for 26 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.

It’s not like the Crimson Tide will lack for receiving talent, even though they’ll be behind the eight ball in the experience department. Cam Sims and ArDarius Stewart were both four-star recruits, while Robert Foster earned a five-star designation coming out of high school in 2013. Add in that Coker should have a rapport with those players after a year running the second team and you have the makings of an offense that won’t miss a beat.

We’ve gone this far just talking about Kiffin’s propensity to air it out, but Alabama will have one of the most talented backs in the SEC in 2015. Derrick Henry, after splitting carries with Yeldon in 2014, will be the man in the backfield for the Crimson Tide. A dominant physical force, Kiffin can lean on Henry to wear down defenses — something he hasn’t been shy about doing in the past when he’s had the talent. With the Tide’s unfairly stacked backfield depth, Kiffin will have almost no choice but to strike a balance between the run and pass.

It’s worth noting that Kiffin sticking with Alabama will only help his reputation. Everyone knows Kiffin’s story, with ugly exits at his three head coaching stops. He’s still working to rehabilitate his image, and working in harmony with Nick Saban for an extended run will help that process.

Whether or not Kiffin’s decision to stay in Tuscaloosa is self-serving, it means nothing but good things for the Crimson Tide’s offense. The characters will be different, but expect the script to play out in prolific manner just the same.