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Lane Kiffin thinks Alabama has made midseason defensive coordinator switch

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby: On3 Staff Report09/18/23
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Bruce Newman / Special to The Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

As Alabama and Ole Miss get set for a highly anticipated clash, Rebels coach Lane Kiffin is preparing for a different person than you might expect in the matchup.

Not Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, but cornerbacks coach Travaris Robinson. Kiffin said he’s noticed some changes on the Alabama defense that lead him to believe the Crimson Tide have effectively made a midseason switch.

“We’ve been against Kevin a number of times,” Kiffin said, according to Ben Garrett of OM Spirit on the On3 network. “Worked with him at Alabama and against him at Auburn and LSU. There seems like there’s been a change there.”

Steele was brought in to coordinate the defense following Pete Golding‘s departure for the Ole Miss job.

Alabama gave up seven points in the season opener against MTSU, but gave up 34 in a loss to Texas in Week 2. Was that enough to get Nick Saban to seek a change, this early in the season?

“I don’t know what happened after the Texas game, but our guys watching the TV copy and schematically in this last game, certainly seems like T-Rob’s now calling the defense,” Kiffin said. “We played him before at South Carolina, so we’re preparing accordingly for him calling the defense. He’s done a good job, too, and they’ve got really good players.”

Both Steele and Robinson have a wealth of SEC experience, and both have come up in similar coaching trees when it comes to defensive system. So even with a change the differences should be fairly minimal.

But it’s interesting that Lane Kiffin seems to have spotted a change watching film. That’s certainly not something you hear every day, and it’s definitely not something most coaches would be willing to tip their hand on once they’ve spotted it.

In any case, it makes for one more interesting side wrinkle to Saturday’s contest.

There’s plenty of coaching crossover to go around, from Golding’s move to Ole Miss to Kiffin himself. Kiffin spent three years on staff at Alabama, a period he describes as very formative for his coaching career.

The game between Alabama and Ole Miss is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday on CBS.