Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin has done a lot in his coaching career. After stops in the NFL as the head coach of the Raiders and a couple college head coaching gigs at Tennessee and USC, he stopped by Tuscaloosa to be the offensive coordinator from 2014-2016.
During his time with the Crimson Tide, Kiffin revitalized Alabama’s offense and was the catalyst to a massive change within the program. He also grew close to head coach Nick Saban and is still very fond of him to this day.
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Kiffin spoke on the state of college football, especially how name, image, likeness (NIL) has impacted the game as a whole. While speaking, he discusses Alabama specifically and how Saban will move forward with the ever-changing landscape.
“If you’re Alabama, how does your gap not continue to widen? If you have NIL, you can get the players. You were already signing No. 1 classes. Now there’s a money factor involved, and you have top resources for that and you have the portal so you are replacing. If you have holes anywhere with guys leaving, they’re just going to replace them. You see them doing it. Here’s the best players out there not playing at Alabama. They can come take these spots.”
He continues on to talk about how much longer Saban has before it becomes time to call it quits and retire.
“People always ask me when Nick Saban will retire. Before, I said, ‘Not for a long time.’ He’s driven and he works like he’s 30. Now, it’ll be never. Why would he? You get the best players, have free agency to pluck the best players.
“He’ll be there forever. He might double his championships.”
Roll Tide Wire will continue to cover all things Alabama football as the 2022 offseason continues.
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