Lane Kiffin Made His Opinion of Nick Saban Extremely Clear

The SEC is gearing up for its first season of the post-Nick Saban era of college football.

SEC Media Days kicked off with Day 1 on Monday. And instead of addressing the media as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Saban took to the microphone as an analyst for ESPN.

During an appearance with ESPN's SportsCenter on Monday, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was asked if he was excited to take the field without Saban across the sideline this coming college football season.

"No, I really appreciate Coach Saban," Kiffin said. "... His career is amazing. I'm blessed with the opportunity that he gave me. I wouldn't be here today without him. He took a chance on me and really opened up a lot of doors. I was able to meet a lot of amazing people, players, coaches throughout those three years. I'm really grateful for him."

Saban hired Kiffin as Alabama's offensive coordinator in 2014 following his head coaching stint with USC. Kiffin turned his three-year experience with the Crimson Tide into a new head coaching job with Florida Atlantic in 2017.

Now, Kiffin will lead Ole Miss into the 2024 college football season with high hopes. On Monday, Saban predicted the Rebels to win 11 games in their upcoming campaign.

"I think this is the first time Ole Miss can really match-up up front. It's always been their issue. They'll win 11 games. They'll lose to Georgia, they'll lose to us because they can't match-up up front. They can this year. They're going to look more like an SEC team," Saban said, via Mike Rodak.

Kiffin and his squad will kickoff with the 2024 season with a matchup against Furman on Aug. 31.

Related: Nick Saban's Bold 2024 Prediction For Ole Miss is Turning Heads