Nick Saban identifies deciding factor on whether Lane Kiffin picks Ole Miss or LSU
By Jacob Moss
Published:
The Lane Kiffin coaching saga has generated more conversation and debate than just about any other coaching decision in recent memory, with seemingly every fan and analyst around the sport chiming in at one point or another.
This includes a man who knows Kiffin better than just about anybody else, his former boss Nick Saban, who Kiffin served under at Alabama as offensive coordinator from 2014 to 2016.
Saban was asked about Kiffin’s looming decision on College GameDay, and the legendary former head coach said that he believes that Kiffin will go wherever he can recruit the best players to come and play for him.
“I think that Lane’s decision is going to come down to one thing,” Saban said. “That thing is just what Marty (Smith) said, ‘Where is the place that I can recruit the best players?’ I think that one of Lane’s apprehensions is that he’s having to use the portal to build his team at Ole Miss each year, but at LSU, he can probably recruit better talent, and then use the portal to supplement his team where he needs to.”
Kiffin has utilized the transfer portal more than any other program in the SEC since arriving in Oxford, bringing in transfer classes that consistently rank near the top of the nation over that span.
If Saban is correct in his assessment of his former assistant, though, then the lure of LSU’s natural recruiting advantages may end up being too much for Ole Miss to overcome in the end.
