Lane Kiffin is working wonders at Ole Miss. This is a program that last tasted success an overwhelmingly long time ago. Kiffin is also posting a record for himself. This is his longest tenure as a college football coach, and he’s led the Rebels to 3 double-digit finishes in the 5 seasons that he’s played since 2020. Kiffin also argues that Ole Miss was unfairly snubbed out of the playoffs last year. This is no longer the HC who saw his career ending after a dark period before his current job. Now entering his 6th season, Kiffin remembers a very eye-catching piece of advice from his former boss, Nick Saban.

Lane Kiffin was the youngest FBS Div-I head coach when he took the Tennessee job in 2008. He lasted there one year. He then ended up at USC and saw his career take off after posting a 10-2 finish in 2011. But tragedy hit after the team lost to Arizona State in 2013. Kiffin was still the HC when they returned to the Los Angeles International Airport. The then-USC AD, Pat Haden, called the coach into a room in the terminal and let him know that he was fired. A personal life in shambles, and a career that was nearing a point of no return: that’s the baggage Kiffin had on his shoulders at this point. Then, Nick Saban became his saving grace when the veteran coach made the Rebels HC his offensive coordinator.

Their relationship was also one worth watching. His three years with Saban were marked by a lot of differences. There was a time when Saban raised his voice at Kiffin so loudly that the latter thought he would resort to physical means. But he also owes his now-rejuvenated career to the veteran coach. They’re still on talking terms, thankfully, and Kiffin still holds Saban in high regard. The Ole Miss HC, who is very confident about his 2025 roster, revealed to USA Today some words of advice the former coach gave him. It includes a reference to a lethal substance used to kill some pesky rodents.

“Remind those players about rat poison,” Saban reportedly told Kiffin to relay to his team. “Remind them that those people that are writing that stuff on the internet about how great they are, … it’s probably some big fat guy in his underwear who doesn’t know c— about football,” the legendary coach added. Kiffin is not new to criticism from the media. In fact, his very eye-catching comments make him a sought-after target. But apart from just being in the limelight, Kiffin knows how to win. But he barely made it into the playoffs last year with a 10-3 record. Now, as he hopes to make that unfulfilled goal a reality this season, maybe these words of wisdom will keep his players in check.

Nick Saban did extend Kiffin a wing of shelter. The two managed to win a National Championship as well. But their dynamic was tested to the very end.

Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin did not mesh very well at Alabama

Lane Kiffin is a man who speaks his mind. And he wasn’t too scared to comment on his boss’s coaching. In a book titled ‘The Price: What It Takes to Win In College Football’s Era of Chaos,’ writers Armen Keteyian and John Talty narrate some very animated anecdotes from Kiffin’s time in Alabama. Saban was so aggravated at Kiffin at one point that he threatened to fire Jimmy Sexton, the agent who convinced him to hire the latter as his assistant. The exchange was very colorful.

According to the book, Saban was fed up with the antics of Kiffin during coach meetings. He called Sexton and said, “That son of a b—-,” he began. “I’m going to fire you, Jimmy, for ever talking me into hiring that narcissistic p—k,” he added further. Another time, Saban told another assistant of Kiffin, “I ain’t never had a f—— coach I can’t control.” Yet, the pair was somehow able to work together to win 2 SEC Championships and one National Championship.

Lane Kiffin, in his 6-year-long career at Oxford, took the Rebels to heights no one ever thought the program would achieve. Both the program and he are seeing a new breath of life come their way. Kiffin is all set to take Ole Miss even further, and he will do so keeping the words of his disgruntled savior in mind. Though having an icy relationship, the experience ultimately paid off for the Ole Miss HC.