Over the years, Lane Kiffin has not been shy about poking fun at Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban, just as he does any other coach in college football. But he still has a tremendous amount of respect for Saban.
Lane Kiffin opened up about his relationship with Nick Saban, crediting the Alabama coach for helping revive his coaching career by giving him a chance as the team’s offensive coordinator.
“I think it’s maybe an unusual way of showing respect for what he did for me,” Kiffin said according to On3. “First of all, I respect the guy’s the greatest college coach to ever coach college football, because he’s doing it in the era different than Bear Bryant and some of those names because of scholarship limitations compared to back then. Imagine Nick Saban had unlimited scholarships or 150 players. If he could take under 150 players good luck to everybody else. I mean, it’d be Alabama and Georgia, I guess.
“So for him to do what he does is unbelievable. And then for what he did for me personally, it was unbelievable. So it’s kind of like one of those like, he’s like a family member where I can joke about him or something. But if someone else does, it really pisses me off.”
It sounds like Saban will always hold a special place in Kiffin’s heart.
[On3]
