April’s Fools jokes aside, has Lane Kiffin become head coach material again?

After a tumultuous college run at Tennessee and USC, full of plenty of losses and controversy, Alabama’s offensive coordinator has shone on the Capstone, where three yards and a cloud of dust is a philosophy of the past.

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To be sure, Kiffin rode Derrick Henry late in the season as the Heisman Trophy-winning running back ground out yards and chewed up the clock to seal games in Bama’s run to the 2015 national title, but the 40-year-old Kiffin has opened up the offense much more than previous coordinators.

Just look at the team’s 2015 offensive stats: 35.1 points per game, ranking it in the top 30, and 427.1 yards per game, putting Alabama in the top 45. (Those numbers are down from No. 16 and No. 18 in the country in ’14, when the team’s defense wasn’t as good.) No longer does the Tide rely exclusively on defense to win games. With Kiffin’s game planning, Alabama now features an offense with a nice run-pass balance, but capable of quick strikes.

Saban’s muzzle on his assistant coaches – Kiffin has only been allowed to speak to media twice outside of bowl game preparations – has probably helped because, let’s be honest, Kiffin’s mouth did him no favors in previous coaching stints. Now his greatest act of cockiness is raising his arms to signal touchdowns on deep balls before they’re caught.

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis called Kiffin a “flat-out liar” in firing his head coach in 2008, four games into his second season. At Tennessee, Kiffin accused then-Florida coach Urban Meyer of recruiting hanky-panky and even jabbed at Nick Saban, noting the linebackers coach he hired away from Alabama, Lance Thompson, helped the Volunteers to a strong recruiting class in 2009. Kiffin told Alshon Jeffery that same year he’d end up pumping gas for a living if he signed with South Carolina – it didn’t quite turn out that way.

And in 2012, Kiffin lied about voting his USC Trojans No. 1 in the preseason coaches poll.

When Kiffin joined Alabama’s staff in 2014, from the chatter of Bama detractors, you’d have thought Darth Vader just teamed up with Emperor Palpatine.

But it’s been a quiet, and successful, two years in Tuscaloosa for Kiffin. Despite his tumultuous history, he’s now often mentioned as a future head coach again. A report tied him to the Maryland opening this offseason, and though that never materialized, some were surprised when he remained in Tuscaloosa for a third season.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney probably is the favorite to take over when Saban eventually steps down, but with his success and cooler demeanor, Kiffin has put himself in the conversation.

If not at Alabama, he’ll get an opportunity somewhere else as head coach. Will he follow Smart’s path and remain a successful coordinator for the Tide for years to come? Or will he bolt at the first available opportunity, hoping to succeed at what could be a lesser program?

The younger Kiffin probably would leave the first chance he got. If he stays, that probably counts as tangible evidence that he’s matured.

Like him or not, Kiffin has done a heck of a coaching job in Alabama, and his decision on how long to stay in Tuscaloosa will have a real impact within the SEC.