Nick Saban apparently told Lane Kiffin that the LSU Tigers job is better than the Alabama Crimson Tide's, the latter of which the 74-year-old made himself a legend by winning six titles following one with the former. That helped Kiffin decide on the Tigers over the Ole Miss Rebels.
Yep. The man who still works for Alabama, still has an office at Bryant-Denny Stadium, still won't pick against the Tide on College GameDay...that man told Kiffin that coaching in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a better deal than coaching in Tuscaloosa.
Saban played cover for Kiffin during the last College GameDay broadcast, claiming it was a College Football problem, not a Kiffin problem, that caused the wild hiring cycle involving LSU, the Rebels, and the Florida Gators.
That didn't go over well, to say the least.
"Saban being essentially an advisor in this process makes the 'GameDay' spiel from him and Herbstreit insisting Kiffin be allowed to coach Ole Miss in the CFP and blaming everyone but Lane all the more cringey," The Sports Business Journal's Ben Portnoy prefaced before saying, "Just an unnecessary own goal from everyone involved on that front."
We all know Jimmy Sexton is pulling the strings here. He represents Saban, Kiffin, and several other on-air talents on College GameDay. Saban going along with it is a move that many within the state of Alabama may lose respect for him for, as a person. Obviously, his coaching legacy is secure and, quite frankly, untouchable.
Nick Saban may be protecting Alabama from Lane Kiffin
Saban saying the LSU job is better doesn't sit right when he has a statue sitting outside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Something else feels at play.
Saban may be protecting Alabama from Kiffin. If anyone knows Kiffin's antics, it's Saban, who fired Kiffin before the CFP title game because he wasn't a fan of his preparation. There's plenty of hearsay about what happened around Tuscaloosa involving Kiffin during his time with the Tide, but the facts are that he wasn't meeting the Bama Standard, because Kiffin was too focused on his new job with the FAU Owls, which is on-brand. Kiffin tried to make a power play to coach Ole Miss in this year's CFP. That was denied, possibly from Saban's precedent.
For Alabama fans who were hoping to land Kiffin because Kalen DeBoer isn't cutting it, Saban may have lost them with that. He won't be out of good graces for long, but his involvement with LSU hits close to home for Bammers who thought that he'd remain 100% loyal to his current employer.