By David Knox
Sports Editor
What does Nick Saban’s move to replace Lane Kiffin with just a week to get ready for the season’s biggest game mean?
Was Saban finally fed up with Kiffin, so much so that he couldn’t stand him being around the team another week?
Was the Washington game plan so abominable he didn’t think Kiffin could be trusted to call a winning game against Clemson? And that Steve Sarkisian, on staff since early September as an analyst, could do a better job?
Was prepping for the FAU job while coaching the Crimson Tide offense that much of a distraction for Kiffin?
Was it a combination of all that, heightened by Kiffin’s comments to Sports Illustrated writer Pete Thamel?
One thing we know: Nick Saban isn’t going to tell us anything beyond the Monday statement. And another thing we probably can infer: Whatever Lane Kiffin tells us won’t be the whole story.
Saban’s Monday decision – or was that a mutual decision? — was certainly questioned by reporters on a Tuesday media teleconference, but it didn’t take long for Saban to shut that line of questioning down.
Dabo Swinney’s Clemson is foremost on his mind.
But what about Kiffin?
“We made a statement about this … I really don’t have much else to say about it,” Saban said. “It’s difficult sometimes when you’re in a situation when you have a new opportunity and a new job, and we mutually agreed that in the best interest of everyone that this would be the best thing for us to do relative to the experience that we had in preparation for Washington and playing in the game. You know, I don’t think there’s a whole lot more to say about that. Our coaches are working hard to try to put the best game plan we can together to play against a very good Clemson defense, and we’re in the planning stages right now.
“I don’t know why you all keep asking me what changes we’re going to make. Dabo is a good friend of mine; maybe I’ll just call him up and tell him what we’re going to do.”
Saban does indeed have Sarkisian in place, but he hasn’t called a game in a couple of years. He also had no on-field interaction with any players, much less quarterback Jalen Hurts.
“Well, if you understand the rules, you know, he’s not allowed to be involved with the team,” Saban said. “They’re involved in the planning. They’re involved in the organization. That’s where they make their contribution, in the coaching meetings. They’re not really allowed to be involved with the team.”
Earlier Tuesday, Kiffin had said he might be on the sideline or in the coaches booth.
Uh-uh.
“No, it’s really not even possible from a legal standpoint for him to do those things,” Saban said. “That’s not something that we’re interested in pursuing.”
Saban said he didn’t make a change sooner because he didn’t see there would be an issue.
“I don’t have anything else to say about this. You know, we’re moving forward. We’re looking forward to the Clemson game. We did what we did for the reasons that I’ve stated many, many times before, and there’s really nothing else to talk about. So there’s no why, there’s no if, there’s no but. It just is what it is. The statement says what it is.”
Needless to say, it’s an unprecedented move, and has become a major storyline of the game, whatever the reason Kiffin is gone.
Clemson presents a huge challenge on both sides of the ball. Its offense scored 40 points on Alabama in last year’s 45-40 title game loss, and no doubt believes it can do that again with Deshaun Watson back. Its defense handed Urban Meyer his first shutout as a head coach in the 31-0 Fiesta Bowl drubbing.
“I don’t think anything is significantly changed philosophically,” Saban said. “I think some of the key players on both teams are still out there competing, especially for Clemson with their quarterback. Their skill players on offense are outstanding, some of whom didn’t play last year in this game who have had fantastic years this year, whether it’s No. 7 or No. 8, and so there’s somewhat of a difference from that standpoint.
“But defensively they’ve got some — a lot of new faces out there, and we’ve got a few new ones. We have a freshman quarterback, which makes us different. There are some of the obvious subtle differences, but philosophically, I think you have success because you do what you believe in and you try to do it well. I think that’s what Clemson does extremely well, and that’s what we try to do as a coaching staff relative to what we believe in.”
Watson had a big game against the Tide last season, 30-of-45 passing for 405 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed 20 times for 73 yards as Clemson racked up 31 first downs and 550 yards of total offense.
“I thought he played fantastic against us last year, and we thought he was an outstanding player last year when we played against him,” Saban said. “He may be arguably the best player in college football. The guy is very athletic. He’s got a great understanding of their offense. He does a really good job of executing for his team. He can extend plays. He can run. And he’s a terrific passer. I mean, he is the complete package of everything that you could ever want or look for in a guy at quarterback, and he’s been playing for a long time, so he has a tremendous amount of experience. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. You know, I think that that’s why they’re a very, very dynamic offense.”
Saban praised the Clemson defense, which is seventh in the nation in scoring and eighth overall in total defense.
“They played really, really well against Ohio State. They created a lot of pressure, a lot of negative plays, really affected the quarterback, and this is a complete unit. This is a very, very good defensive team from top to bottom, and I thought they played just, you know, really, really outstanding against Ohio State in terms of well-prepared, knowing exactly what they had to take away, and played well together to get it done.”
Swinney, the Clemson coach who is from Pelham and played wide receiver at Alabama, said he doesn’t think Alabama will change much despite the coordinator switch.
“Not really – I guess you’ve got some nuances that might be a little bit different maybe from a play call or something like that, but you’re not going to – it’s not like they’re going to come out and run the triple option. They’re going to dance with who brung ’em.”
He believes his Tigers are better than a year ago.
“I think we’re just better across the board offensively,” Swinney said. “We’ve got more guys at running back. We’re more experienced at receiver. Even though we’ve got a true freshman at right tackle, I think we’re better up front. And then Deshaun Watson is a better player right now than he was last year. And then defensively, I think that we just were a little bit – we’re more consistent than we were this time last year. We were very good, a top-10 defense last year, but too many big plays, very inconsistent at times. This year we’ve been a much more consistent defense throughout the season.”