Nick Saban’s reign of terror over CFB spanned over 2 decades. Heading into Tuscaloosa was akin to going to a family get-together- you know you’re in for a difficult time and an old man is going to be the reason why! Multiple championships were won, and a plethora of talent was developed. The daunting stature of Saban didn’t just permeate outside Alabama. It often had people in-house terrified, too. Lane Kiffin, his OC for 3 years, seems to have been an exception to the norm.

Saban didn’t just build championship teams – he built coaching trees that could block out the sun. Even after his retirement, his fingerprints remain all around CFB through his successful coordinators. Kiffin, alongside other usual suspects such as Kirby Smart and Steve Sarkisian, epitomizes what Saban gave back to the sport. Naturally, many assistants and players subdued their individuality to do things the way Saban wanted them to. This mostly stemmed from the sheer reverence he commanded. Not Lane Kiffin, though. That man doesn’t take one-way commands without reciprocation. The two personas were on a collision course from the onset, and they clashed ever so often.

Former Crimson Tide QB Blake Sims shared an anecdote from his time at Bama, which exemplifies the dynamic between Saban and Kiffin. Even when the pair were being funny, it was under the guise of 2 different methodologies not quite meshing. Sims reminisced about an interaction during an appearance on the McCready and Siskey podcast. “Nick [Saban] comes up to me,” recalled Sims. “He just got done telling Lane [Kiffin] ‘You’re so smart and I’m so dumb that you’re the dumb m-fer, and you don’t even know it!’” A typical conversation between an offensive mind and a pragmatic, defensive one. “They was arguing about a play. Lane’s like ‘No coach. I just know it’s gonna work’. Saban is like ‘We don’t do that here. We run the ball and we pass it on third down!’” Blake Sims proceeded to share another similar anecdote that speaks to the eccentricity of Kiffin.

Perhaps the reason for the friction was beyond just their personalities. Kiffin was just…moody? “[Saban] goes ‘Hey, where’s your OC?’ I said I don’t know. He said ‘Look at Field 3’. Lane is in directly in the middle of field three with his visor off. You gotta understand this is Alabama weather now. [He’s] fully clothed as if it’s cold outside. Has a full sweatsuit on, sweating his b–t off. Looking at the sky and says ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I just came to Tuscaloosa!’” For a guy that came over from USC out in southern Cali, Bama has got to be a shock to the system on all fronts.

Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin did win a national title together in 2016. Kiffin acknowledges the impact deputizing under the proverbial GOAT had on his career. His Ole Miss tenure is a testament to this. However, he left Bama under a cloud, perfectly encompassing the strained relationship between the duo. If coach Saban is a proponent of anything, then it’s professionalism, so a breach of that was the final straw.

Nick Saban may have ended any shot of reconciliation with how he fired Lane Kiffin

Although things weren’t all rosy behind the scenes, It didn’t seep into performances. You’d be forgiven for thinking that since Bama won ‘only’ 1 championship during his time, the Kiffin era was relatively weak. That’s not quite the case once you add a vital bit of context. Nick Saban let Lane Kiffin off his duties abruptly right before the CFP Final in 2017. 

In the lead-up to the game, Kiffin had already accepted a head coaching role with Florida Atlantic. He was going to leave Bama after the final. Saban discerned he was distracted at this vital juncture. Worried that he wasn’t getting a fully locked in OC led to him replacing Kiffin before he could leave on his own terms. He was replaced by Sarkisian. Alabama lost the game 35-31 to Clemson.

Who knows if they’d have yet another bit of hardware if Saban didn’t fire Kiffin. It’s a fair assumption that the decision was a build-up of all the past strain between them rather than being made on a whim over one factor. Alas, the two have never really mended this fractured dynamic as coaches. The manner of the firing does make it a difficult one to mend after all. However, Lane Kiffin recently became a proponent of Saban as a potential CFB commissioner, so it’s not all hard feelings. Paying heed to Blake Sims’ account, it seems like a case of two great football minds that were just never meant to do it together.