Lane Kiffin once revealed how Nick Saban turned out to be his savior after hitting lowest point of his career

Legendary Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban made a name for his success as a college football coach, winning seven national championships before retiring in January. He also established a reputation as a 'coach carwash' by employing talented coaches who had been fired from their jobs and reinventing them.

Kiffin and Saban share a close relationship due to the three years (2014-2016) when the Ole Miss coach was the offense coordinator under the latter at Alabama. The pair won three SEC trophies and a national title while accumulating a 40-3 record.

During an episode of ESPN's College Football in 2022, Lane Kiffin revealed how Saban came through for him in his lowest hour after being fired by the USC Trojans in 2013. (1:37 onwards)

"I couldn't get anything. No one would talk to me. He said, 'come out, come check out what we do.'," Kiffin said.

"I'm sitting at home, I'm the fired USC coach. Why is Nick Saban even asking me anything? You had an issue, you got fired. Go there, you're washed of it all," he added. "I felt like people viewing me different because of getting the Nick Saban stamp."

Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin's contentious relationship

Lane Kiffin has cut a niche for himself in college football for being one of the most charismatic characters in the game, and his headstrong nature led to him butting heads with Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa.

During an interview with ESPN after Saban retired, Kiffin detailed a hilarious story about how he tried to outsmart the legendary coach's defense with his fancy offensive plays during practice despite other staffers telling him to water it down.

"I'd come from the Pete Carroll camp. I wasn't wired that way, to let the defense win," said Kiffin. "We had a really good day on offense, ran some reverses, threw a double pass and had all these touchdowns, and he (Nick Saban) said that all I was trying to do was win the drill and trick the defense and not help the team.

"I was like, 'Isn't that the point in good-on-good situations on offense, to see if you can move the ball?' He was furious."

Kiffin later revealed that in revenge for Saban's lecture, he put out the most outdated offense he could the next day at training, which earned him another round with a furious Nicktator.

Despite their contentious relationship when they worked together in Tuscaloosa, Lane Kiffin and Saban share a warm relationship, highlighted several times by their comments about each other.