Lane Kiffin provides insight on the origin of Nick Saban’s 'deez nuts' joke
It has been well established that Alabama head coach Nick Saban loves a good “deez nuts” joke. Former assistant coach Lane Kiffin, who loves a good joke himself, exposed the origins of the classic comedy routine on Wednesday. Kiffin accuses former Alabama defensive back and current Baltimore Raven Marlon Humphrey of teaching Saban about deez.
The joke resurfaced this week after Alabama safety Jordan Battle told the media that Saban had returned to his old ways, telling him to “touch deez” and “suck on deez” throughout practice.
The joke originally aimed at playful trash talk with offensive players during practice, appears to continue branching out as Saban makes more fun of the defense. Keeping practice light-hearted sometimes can be important over the course of a long season, especially at a school with the expectations of Alabama.
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The start date on Saban’s “deez nuts” jokes remains unclear but they were first brought to the public’s eye courtesy of former Alabama running back and current Las Vegas Raider Josh Jacobs. During a pre-draft interview with radio host Dan Patrick, Jacobs shared his favorite story about Saban’s light side, rarely seen by the public.
“What people don’t understand about him is he’s actually very funny,” Jacobs said in 2019. “He’s definitely a players’ coach. I remember one day at practice I was just catching a lot of balls — and you know he works with the defensive side so he’s always on the offensive players.”
He continued: “If I was catching a lot of passes that day, he would try to say something like, ‘Hey Josh, you keep catch all these passes, how about you hold deez?’ or something like that. Just something funny for a coach to try and translate and get to know to each player.
Former Alabama quarterback and current Miami Dolphin Tua Tagovailoa later confirmed the information to Patrick in a radio interview. With multiple sources confirming the bizarre Saban story, Patrick could not help but ask Nick Saban about his classic comedy routine.
“Well, I like to have fun with the players,” Saban said. “I think that it’s good that they see you every now and then in a little bit of a different light. Since I am a defensive coach, and I probably get on the defensive players a little bit more ferociously, it’s a little bit easier for me to be more lighthearted with the offensive players.”