Ahead of the 2024 college football season in Mississippi, controversy was stirred by an alleged comment made by former Alabama head coach Nick Saban about his former assistant and now-Ole Miss frontman Lane Kiffin. One of the writers who penned the book chronicling the comment is doubling down on the accuracy of the quote after it was recently dismissed by both Saban and Kiffin.
The Price: What It Takes to Win in College Football’s Era of Chaos was co-authored by journalists John Talty and Armen Keteyian. In a chapter centered around prominent sports agent Jimmy Sexton, who represented both Saban and Kiffin when the two coached together at Alabama from 2014 to 2016, a fiery phone call details Saban’s apparent fury with his then-assistant.
An excerpt from the book, which hit shelves this week but made into the hands of some readers as early as last week, alleged Saban laid into Sexton after Kiffin apparently told the national championship-winning coach he didn’t know what he was talking about during a coaches meeting.
“That son of a bitch,” Saban allegedly referred to Kiffin during the call with Sexton. “I’m going to fire you, Jimmy, for ever talking me into hiring that narcissistic prick.”
Once the quote hit the internet, Saban and Kiffin both wasted little time calling it inaccurate and using the situation as an opportunity to highlight their respect for each other. During a trip to Ireland ahead of this past Saturday’s kickoff game between Florida State and Georgia Tech, Saban told ESPN’s Pat McAfee that he “never made a quote about Lane Kiffin” while reporters made sure to ask Kiffin about it during his weekly press conference on Monday.
“[Saban] was asked about those comments, and I think it’s a shame when people make comments and they write things with quotation marks and then the coach or the agent says they’ve never even spoken to the writer about that subject,” Kiffin said. “I think that was why he was kind of upset when they put those words to him or to Jimmy when both people say they did not have that conversation with either writer.”
But Talty, who has been on or close to the Tuscaloosa beat for nearly his entire professional life, said during an episode of SportsTalk Mississippi on Wednesday that even with the backlash he’s received, he knows the phone call happened. He vouched that it was just one example of the pair’s rocky relationship at the time.
“I understand why some people that were involved in it might not love that it’s out there and might push back,” Talty said. “But, to me, it kind of shows what Jimmy Sexton’s life is like – especially during that time. You’ve got Nick Saban, who’s one of your most prominent clients. You’ve got Lane Kiffin, who’s another one of your most prominent clients, on the other hand. And they’re working together and it’s not always going well.
“Jimmy got himself in the middle of some of that stuff. In the greater context of the story, it’s really about Jimmy Sexton. But I understand why people gravitated to that because of their importance to the sport.”
Talty also acknowledged the fact that Kiffin is the only offensive coordinator in the history of the College Football Playoff to win a semifinal game before abruptly exiting the program, as happened two days after Alabama defeated Washington in 2016. He pointed to this as another example of the uneasiness that surrounded Kiffin working under Saban.
“That has to be one of one,” Talty continued. “I don’t know that something like that will ever happen again. So, it wasn’t all butterflies and sunshine between Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa.”
As Kiffin is now half a decade removed from working at Alabama and heading into his fifth season with Ole Miss, there’s one thing that he and Talty agree on – Kiffin’s time with Saban was invaluable.
“As time continued to go on, you’re further removed and add more appreciation for Coach (Saban) and what he did for my career and taking a chance on me,” Kiffin said. “I learned from him over three years. Every day, there’s something I pull from.”
While Saban is retired and enjoying his time on ESPN sets as an analyst, Kiffin’s Rebels are heading into what might be the most anticipated season in program history. The loaded roster will begin its push for a playoff spot this Saturday in the season opener against Furman. Kickoff from Oxford is set for 6 p.m. CT and can be watched on ESPN+ or listened to on participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
