Lane Kiffin’s got jokes.
The new Florida Atlantic head coach and Alabama offensive coordinator was asked at a press conference ahead of the Peach Bowl semifinal whether he had any happy memories of his time at Alabama with Nick Saban. Kiffin naturally responded that there were no happy moments, just “ass chewings”:
“I don’t know that I would describe there was a happy moment,” joked Kiffin, who will resume his duties as the head coach at Florida Atlantic after the Crimson Tide’s postseason run. “I don’t recall a happy moment. I just recall the ass chewings. I won’t take that part of the process with me (to FAU), though.”
What is Kiffin referring too? Well, all the times Saban blew up at him for little reason.
Like this moment:
Or this moment when he said the “offense hasn’t arrived” under Kiffin:
Or, when Saban said there “were no arguments. Those are called ass-chewings.”
Saban on his interaction with Kiffin during the game: "There were no arguments. Those are called ass-chewings."
— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) September 10, 2016
I don’t blame Kiffin for joking about getting his “ass chewed” as he eloquently put it. Saban is a very precise, demanding coach. Bama could be up 100-0 and Saban could walk away upset because the team fumbled the ball once. He expects perfection and isn’t afraid to speak his mind when he doesn’t get it. That must’ve made Kiffin tired.
Kiffin wanted to get out of Bama and Saban and ended up at FAU. He’ll be able to run that program his own way and hopefully keep the “ass chewings” to a minimum. It’s a great quote, but in all seriousness, Kiffin being his own boss at a smaller, less pressure-filled school is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to him.