Lane Kiffin relishes the opportunity to play against Nick Saban and Alabama in Week 4: "Maybe this is our last time"

It seems as if almost every coach Nick Saban comes up against these days learned his craft under him. Lane Kiffin, coach of the Ole Miss Rebels is the latest assistant trying to outdo the wily old master when Ole Miss face Alabama.

Lane Kiffin was the offensive coordinator of the Alabama Crimson Tide under Nick Saban between 2014 and 2016 after a failed stint as the coach of USC had left his reputation in tatters.

While speaking to the SEC Network, Kiffin made some cryptic comments on the game against Alabama and facing Saban.

“I have so much appreciation for what Nick Saban did for me. I love going against him and seeing before the game,” Kiffin said.

“So, we’re very excited for this opportunity today — and you never know how many more you’ve got,” Kiffin added. “Maybe this is our last time. So, we’ll be very excited for this opportunity today, and so much respect for Coach and the Alabama football program.”

On an appearance on the "Pat McAfee Show," Nick Saban had nothing but kind words for his former offensive coordinator.

"I think everybody sort of makes the relationships with guys that have worked here when we play against each other, and that's always a big story," he said. "Lane did a fantastic job when he was here."

Saban explained how Kiffin helped to modernize Alabama's offense.

"We kind of went from old school ball to modern day ball, I want to call it, in terms of doing somethings with RPOs and vantage throws and really sort of set us off for the future of what we do on offense and what we've been able to do on offense," he said.

Lane Kiffin defends Nick Saban

College football analyst Paul Finebaum has always been of the opinion that the Saban dynasty at Alabama has drawn to a close.

After proclaiming this hypothesis once again during preseason, Lane Kiffin came to Saban's defense with a sarcastic comment directed at Finebaum.

“It’s why we have Finebaum, so he can motivate (Saban) every other year and say, ‘Oh, his dynasty is over, and this is the end of Saban,’ and we’re like, ‘Hey, thanks a lot for p***ing him off’," he said. "And Paul is always wrong on this. He just did it again the other day: ‘He doesn’t make the playoffs, he’s not any good as a coach.’ Thanks, Paul.”

If Saturday's meeting between Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban turns out to be the last one between the pair, it will go down as a clash of a student who respected the master to the very end.