Former Alabama OC, Lane Kiffin, considers Nick Saban to be family
Despite being one of the brightest minds in college football and only in his mid-30s, Lane Kiffin’s career started to get away from him.
After a tumultuous two-year stint with the Oakland Raiders, a one-and-done season with the Tennessee Volunteers and getting fired at 3:14 a.m. on the tarmac at LAX after a 1-3 start with USC, Kiffin was at rock bottom. Across seven seasons with these three teams, each departure worse than the last, Kiffin was 40-36 as a head coach and, to some schools, was viewed as untouchable. That is until Nick Saban came into the picture.
The same season he was let go by the Trojans, Kiffin joined the Alabama staff in December to help with the offense in the postseason. Less than a month later, Kiffin took over the OC position after the departure of then-Alabama OC, Doug Nussmeier.
In his first of three seasons with the Tide, Kiffin was a key piece in Alabama’s playoff run while also being a finalist for the Broyles Award which goes to the top assistant in CFB. Saban’s gamble paid off, a tale of what was to come for guys like Butch Jones and Steve Sarkisian.
Kiffin has since revived a poor Florida Atlantic program and led Ole Miss to a 23-13 record over the past three seasons with a 10-win season and Sugar Bowl appearance in 2021. However, Kiffin never forgot where he came from and who gave him his shot.
If you scroll through Twitter on a college football Saturday, you will see Kiffin making “rat poison” jokes or joking around at Jimbo Fisher’s expense and it’s evident that Tuscaloosa has a special place in his heart. On Sirius XM radio recently, Kiffin spoke of his relationship with Saban saying, “He’s like a family member where I can joke about him, but if someone else does, it really pisses me off.”
Lane Kiffin loves to poke fun at Nick Saban on Twitter, but don't get it twisted — he has a tremendous amount of respect for the Alabama Head Coach.
Kiffin describes his relationship with Saban and why he considers him the G.O.A.T.🐐@OleMissFB | @AlabamaFTBL | @Lane_Kiffin pic.twitter.com/pr9eFe5ozy
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) May 9, 2023
Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow both Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin in 2023.
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Former Alabama OC, Lane Kiffin, considers Nick Saban to be family
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