Lane Kiffin appeared on Mike and Mike early Tuesday morning and made his plea to join Alabama at the National Championship game:
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Lane Kiffin on @MikeAndMike said Alabama is checking to see if he can be on sidelines or press box for @CFBPlayoff title game
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 3, 2017
It didn't take long for Saban to respond, and his answer was pretty much exactly what the Alabama faithful have come to expect from him:
Lane Kiffin said Bama looking into having him at game in sideline or press box. Nick Saban said “that’s not something we’re interested in"
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 3, 2017
Nick Saban on Lane Kiffin being with team for NC game: Not even possible from a legal standpoint. That's not something we're pursuing
— Marq Burnett (@Marq_Burnett) January 3, 2017
Saban showed frustration with Kiffin after a poor Peach Bowl performance (per Business Insider):
"I think the way we went about the last game, whether it was the preparation, the practice, being able to focus on what we need to do, for our team, relative to the distractions that occur when you are trying to hire a staff [at FAU], and recruit at another place, and all these types of things," Saban said. "Hey, Lane did the best he could. It's a difficult circumstance. We certainly wish him well. We both had a meeting [Sunday] and again this morning, that we thought this would be in the best interest and mutually agreed for both parties to move on."
ESPN's Brett McMurphy shared more details on Kiffin's departure, and it's not pretty.
Late to meetings, getting left behind at media day, public “ass-chewing” comments contributed to Lane Kiffin’s exit, sources told @ESPN
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 2, 2017
Saban seems grateful for everything Kiffin did at Alabama, but with the stakes this high, Alabama can't afford to have a coach with one foot out the door.
