Subscribe
Follow Us
Lane Kiffin is an unorthodox coach, to say the least. Whether trolling other coaches, media members, or his own players, Kiffin has remained himself throughout many ups and downs. But even he is ready to admit that he gave recently retired Nick Saban a hard time when he was an Alabama football assistant coach for Saban.
After being fired by USC at an airport in 2013, Kiffin seemed to be spiraling downward. Once a promising, young coach who seemed like the next big thing in football, Kiffin was fired by the Oakland Raiders before then abruptly leaving Tennessee after one year for USC, which dismissed him in his fourth season as head coach.
Fortunately, Saban entered the picture shortly after Kiffin's firing from USC. After Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier left for Michigan, Kiffin interviewed for and landed the job. Tasked with orchestrating the offense of the Crimson Tide, Kiffin often butted heads with his older, much more rigid and traditional head coach. At times, Kiffin even purposefully antagonized Saban, who had four national titles before Kiffin's arrival and two after his departure.
While Saban and Kiffin won a national championship together — the Tide defeated Clemson in the 2016 College Football Playoff final — their partnership ended when Saban dismissed Kiffin a year later. Fittingly, Kiffin was fired under unusual circumstances, as he had already agreed to become Florida Atlantic's head coach and, Saban felt, had become distracted by his new job. So between the CFP semifinal and final, Saban replaced Kiffin with Steve Sarkisian, another former USC head coach and longtime friend of Kiffin.
Despite the ending, Kiffin, according to a recent ESPN article by Chris Low, is appreciative of Saban and the impact he has had on his career.
“Kiffin remains grateful for his time under Saban and has apologized for some of his antics,” Low wrote.
“I would have really struggled with myself as an assistant coach at that stage, and I told Coach (Saban) that,” Kiffin said, via Low. “I don't think I would have put up with it as a head coach.”
Lane Kiffin leads contending Ole Miss after Nick Saban's retirement
Now, Lane Kiffin is in a position where he gets to make those decisions. While Kiffin is still unorthodox in many ways, he has built Ole Miss into a legitimate SEC and CFP contender.
The Rebels have won 10 or more games in two of the four seasons since Kiffin arrived to Oxford, and the 2024 campaign is expected to be the best. And for the first time since he became a college football head coach, Kiffin will not have to face off against a Nick Saban-led Alabama football team.
Saban, who began coaching at Alabama in 2007, the same year Kiffin was hired by the Oakland Raiders, retired earlier this year after a CFP semifinal loss to Michigan. Saban had coached for 50 years, winning seven national titles and 12 conference titles along the way.
Instead of Saban, Alabama will be led by Kalen DeBoer, who reached the CFP title game with Washington before leaving Seattle for Tuscaloosa following Saban's retirement.
Unless they meet in the SEC Championship Game or in the CFP, Ole Miss and Alabama will not face each other this season.
