Poor Lane Kiffin won’t get another chance to fulfill his burning desire. Nick Saban was determined not to let another student beat him in his own game. During his 28-year head coaching tenure, he took several students under his wing who later went on to become prominent HCs, prepared enough to beat their mentor. 

Some of the best assistants who worked under Saban include Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, former Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher, and Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin. The first three names have one win each against Saban, who is 28-3 against his former assistants. Lane Kiffin’s dream is to step on board with those coaches, but Saban was specifically determined not to let him beat him. 

GOAT Saban wanted to maintain a clean slate with Lane Kiffin as Smoke Dixon presented. In a new X video excerpt posted by 247Sports on August 23, he said, “Nick Saban was extra motivated not to let Lane Kiffin beat him at Ole Miss.” This is where 247Sports journalist John Talty affirms the statement with his own verdict. J. Talty added, “One of his great disappointments – for Lane Kiffin – is gonna be that he never beat Nick Saban. Because I think he wanted it so bad.”

How did this competition creep up in the first place? From 2014 to 2016, Lane Kiffin was part of Alabama’s coaching staff, serving as the OC under Nick Saban. But after three seasons together, the pair called it quits because Saban was mad that the future HC of Ole Miss was the first “narcissistic” coach he couldn’t control. Despite winning a national championship together in 2015, Saban fired Kiffin ahead of the 2016 CFP championship game, which Alabama eventually lost. While Kiffin will never get another chance to beat his mentor, Kirby Smart’s rare achievement against Saban takes the spotlight.

Kirby Smart leaves Lane Kiffin in the dust in Saban-beating competition 

Kirby Smart appeared in five games against his former SEC mentor, Saban, reaping a 1-4 record in the process. The pair first met in 2017 at the CFP National Championship, and Alabama got away with a narrow 26-23 overtime victory. They met at the 2018 SEC Championship the following year, where Georgia lost to Alabama 35-28. Smart still couldn’t knock out his mentor for the next two consecutive years in 2020 and 2021.

The 2022 CFP National Championship game became a game-changer for Smart, who delivered his long-awaited sting on Saban. This was the game where Georgia crushed Alabama 33-18. It was the last game Smart could laugh about because Saban suddenly retired in January of the following year. With his retirement, Lane Kiffin can no longer accomplish what he had been working on to equal the status of the three solitary assistants who beat Saban.