Speculation continues to percolate that Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin's tenure in Tuscaloosa could be nearing its end.

According to a new report by SB Nation, Kiffin will interview with the University of Houston for the school's head coach position recently vacated by Tom Herman. The meeting between Kiffin and Cougars officials is scheduled to take place after the Crimson Tide plays Florida in the SEC Championship game on Saturday.

Kiffin hasn't been a head coach since 2013, when he was fired by USC during the season. His 43-game tenure with the Trojans began after stints as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers and Oakland Raiders.

When asked Friday if Kiffin is ready to lead a program again, his current boss, Nick Saban, said, "Absolutely."

"I think he has proven when he was a head coach he had a reasonably good amount of success -- much more than I think he gets credit for," Saban continued. "And he's done a phenomenal job in the three years that he has been with us relative to taking the players that we had and actually molding a system, especially for the quarterback to be successful in and I think those are signs of tremendous maturity as a coach who is just not committed to a system but is committed to doing the things he has to do to help players be successful.

Saban specifically cited the work Kiffin has done adjusting to the physical talents of Blake Sims, Jake Coker and Jalen Hurts -- Alabama's last three starting quarterbacks. Kiffin has adapted concepts to accentuate each player's strength and also incorporated "hurry-up" principles into his evolving scheme. After Saban rescued Kiffin from the badlands of college football, the 41-year-old has rebuilt his reputation in Tuscaloosa by being both innovative and open-minded.

"You know a lot of guys are committed to a system and then they need to have the players that can fit into that system to make that system work," Saban said. "But I think it is a true sign of a really good coach who can take the players that he has and adapt the system to make it work for them."