Nick Saban’s SEC Media Days appearance ended Wednesday, but even when he is not present, his name remains at the forefront of the other SEC coaches’ media appearances, and Thursday was no different.
First up to speak on Thursday, the final day of SEC Media Days, was Lane Kiffin. Kiffin may not be as successful as Saban, but he draws plenty of attention from the media, knowing that whenever he speaks there is always a good chance for him to say something viral. It didn’t take long for a reporter to ask Kiffin to expand on what Saban has meant to him and his career.
“I'm extremely grateful to Coach Saban and our time together and most importantly him giving me an opportunity to learn from him,” Kiffin said. “I mean, he's the best to ever do it. I've said it before. I really do believe he is the best coach to ever do it because you guys know in here, I kind of, I take in all the information and look at it instead of just like, OK, a record. He's done it in a time of scholarship limitations where some of those older coaches didn't have them, and they could, I mean, what if Nick Saban didn't have an 85 rule? What would his roster look like if he had 150 scholarships to give?"
"And also he's done what I don't think anybody did over time to do it continually with so much staff turnover," he continued. "You know, so many people are hired off of his staff, other places, or to be head coaches. And, you know, it's kind of like, man, all these first round picks and he loses these coordinators.”
Kiffin was on Saban’s staff at Alabama from 2014-2016 as offensive coordinator before taking the head coaching job at Florida Atlantic. He was relieved of his coordinator duties at Alabama in the middle of the College Football Playoffs. The sudden departure did not sit well with the two, causing a bit of tension, but it appears that Kiffin has matured and is now one of Saban’s biggest fans.
Kiffin also referenced SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum suggesting this week that if Saban didn’t make the College Football Playoffs this year, his legacy would be in question.
“That's why we have Finebaum,” Kiffin said. “So he can motivate him every other year and says, ‘Oh, his dynasty is over,' and you know, ‘This is the end of Saban,’ and then we're like, ‘Hey, thanks a lot for pissing him off.’"
"And Paul's always wrong on this subject," he added. "And he just did it again the other day, you know, if he doesn't make the playoffs, you know, you're not any good as a coach. So, thanks. Thanks, Paul."
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