New book on Nick Saban reveals what led to infamous 'ass-chewing' of Lane Kiffin

It was a sideline blowup for the ages, and it went absolutely viral during the season.

In the final minute of Alabama’s 38-10 win over Western Kentucky, college football’s odd couple had a very public argument in front of ESPN’s cameras, and nobody could stop talking about it.

Here’s the video in case you need a refresher:

Saban, in fact, would take issue with calling it a simple argument.

Saban on his interaction with Kiffin during the game: "There were no arguments. Those are called ass-chewings."

— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) September 10, 2016

Now, thanks to a new book by Phil Savage, we know what led to the infamous “ass-chewing.”

AL.com’s Creg Stephenson obtained an advanced copy of the Savage book, “4th & Goal Every Day: Alabama’s Relentless Pursuit of Perfection,” and shared this nugget in a Monday article:

Savage writes that Kiffin said into his headset “dumb players make dumb plays,” which all the Crimson Tide coaches heard. Saban snapped back with “no, dumb offensive coordinators call dumb plays.” There were probably a few expletives left out.

Stephenson’s article also looks at the beginning of “The Process,” Cooper Bateman’s start against Ole Miss in 2015 and Alabama’s win over Texas A&M in 2016. Savage’s book is scheduled to come out Aug. 29.