OXFORD, Miss. — When Lane Kiffin announced his abrupt departure from Ole Miss Rebels to accept the head-coaching job at LSU Tigers, the move sent shockwaves through the SEC. But behind the scenes, one of the sport’s defining voices, his former boss Nick Saban, revealed that his role was limited to that of a sounding board, not a recruiter of the switch.
“Well, I think I get a lot of calls, because some people view me maybe as a senior professional that has a lot of experience in the game, after 50 years, 25 years of the head coach, so as a person, as a human being, you want to help everybody you can,” Saban said on ESPN College GameDay.
Advisory Role
“You know, I’m kind of in this for the betterment of the game, really, for the players and coaches. Anyone who calls me, whether it’s a player, a coach, an administrator, I try to do the best I can, to give them the best information to make the best decisions for the betterment of the game.”
Still, the fact that Kiffin turned to him, while making it public, speaks volumes to the respect he has for Saban. It also shows how coaching changes are shaped not just by money and opportunity, but by program history, mentorship, and long-standing ties.
The underlying dynamic between Kiffin and Saban offers a window of how some decisions are made across college football.
Saban made sure to show his meeting with his former offensive coordinator was more in a consultant role, which is something agent Jimmy Sexton couldn’t offer. It’s a real time, career defining decision made to competitively contend for national championships.
“The first thing I ask a coach, if he’s talking about contemplating changing jobs, is, what do you want to do? And I want them to follow their heart in terms of what they want to accomplish and what they want to do. I never tell anybody what they should do. I just try to bring some thought into it so that they can make good decisions for themselves and their family and their future.”
Rebels Shaped Kiffin
Ole Miss provided Kiffin an opportunity to mature in his coaching career after flaming out at many other jobs across college and NFL. When NIL came along, the school changed with those times and provided him every opportunity to build a championship level roster.
While last season could be considered a disappointment all around, the 2025 version of the Rebels were competing at for a national championship and possible first round home game inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Saban insists that the move from Oxford to Baton Rouge wasn’t made easily, which led to a indecisive Kiffin.
“I think he was very confused,” Saban said. “And I think this is a difficult circumstance to be in. I’ve been in this situation before where you finish the season, you want to stay with your team, you want to coach them, whether it’s in the ball game or the playoffs or whatever it is, but you feel like you owe it to yourself and your family to at least look at other opportunities and consider them and see if they think that’s a better situation for you in the future. And the based on the way the calendar is, that never fits together correctly.”
Now, the Rebels await a momentous CFP bid as program once riddled by mediocrity. While they turn to Pete Golding and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Jr. staying as play caller through the playoffs, it’ll be now or never for a school looking to elevate itself into the future.
