Lane Kiffin spent the 2014-16 seasons on Nick Saban’s staff, part of what has been an incredible run for the Crimson Tide under Saban’s leadership.

Kiffin is now the head coach at Ole Miss, and the No. 12 Rebels have the unenviable task of heading to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to play the top-ranked Crimson Tide.

On Monday, during his weekly press conference, Kiffin was asked about the sustained success that Alabama has enjoyed under Saban’s guidance, and he was quick to credit the Tide’s head coach.

“Alabama’s been around a long time and hasn’t won like this for a long time,” Kiffin said. “… It’s not like it’s just a school, It’s one person. He’s been able to maintain it through tons of different players, tons of different coaches, more coaching turnover than than I bet anyone’s ever had.”

Kiffin also said Saban’s work ethic and his relentlessness on the recruiting trail are key elements in the magical run.

“It’s by the way that he works, and probably more than anything, the way that he recruits,” Kiffin said. “They have great players. Last year when we played them here, they had 6 first-rounders. We had 2 draft picks.”

Kiffin added that Alabama’s dominance in recruiting won’t be ending any time soon, especially with the new transfer rules.

“He’s dominated in recruiting and with that free agency (transfer portal), he gets to add onto that,” Kiffin said. “He said it himself when first asked about free agency, that it was going to make the rich richer. And he was right.”

Ole Miss’ game with Alabama is set to kickoff at 3:30 p.m. EST on Saturday and will be televised by CBS.