Lane Kiffin looks back on memorable Easter spent with Nick Saban, family

The field and family living room demand two different temperaments. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has seen how former Alabama head coach Nick Saban acts in both scenarios. He prefers the latter.

In a recent piece by ESPN’s Chris Low and Harry Lyles Jr., Kiffin recalled when Saban invited him over for Easter. Kiffin spent was the Alabama offensive coordinator at the time. Understandably, he was initially hesitant.

“I’m not getting yelled at on Easter,” Kiffin remembered thinking. “I get yelled at enough at the football complex.”

However, Kiffin didn’t get off the hook that easy. At the time, Kiffin’s three children were young and his wife convinced him it would be a nice way to spend the holiday. Kiffin relented, and he didn’t regret it.

“It was amazing. Coach was completely different,” Kiffin said. “I think his first grandchild had just been born, and he was walking around with [Kiffin’s son] Knox and helping him find an egg. I was like, ‘Is Coach OK?’ Because I’d never really seen that side of him before.”

Oddly enough, it wasn’t the first time Kiffin spent a holiday with a head coach. In his lone season as quality control assistant on the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kiffin similarly spent time with head coach Tom Coughlin. He saw many similarities between Saban and Coughlin.

“Seeing that side of Coach Saban, it’s then that I understood that two of the most demanding coaches I’ve worked for were one way at home and then one way when they walked into that football building,” Kiffin said.

“They felt like they had to be that way, to hold people accountable, to be tough on people, and obviously it worked because they’re both legendary coaches… But it was cool seeing that side of Coach Saban.”

Kalen DeBoer reflects on first phone call with Nick Saban

Lane Kiffin isn’t the first coach who Saban has shown kindness to. After Alabama hired Kalen DeBoer to be its next head coach, he spoke on the phone with Saban. The legendary head coach’s message is something DeBoer will never forget.

“I actually called him right when I was taking the job,” DeBoer said. “It was just really cool to hear how humble he was, talking about even coach [Bear] Bryant and how he was trying to build on on top of that. You can certainly tell that he just wants this program to continue to take the steps forward. 

“I always want to make sure he knows he’s welcome here. He’s always going to be a critical piece of this program’s history and tradition. I’m gonna make sure he gives me one or two tips and pointers every time he walks on the practice field to come watch us. That’d be pretty foolish not to have a legendary coach like Coach Saban here helping us with that whatever he’s got.”