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Lane Kiffin discusses the one trait Pete Carroll and Nick Saban have in common
It was a unique day at Alabama on Sunday, for one specific reason: Assistant coaches met with the media. For those who follow the Crimson Tide program closely, they know that Nick Saban only allows his assistants to speak with the media twice all year. Once before the season, and then again, if the Tide make the college football playoff.
So yeah, it’s a big deal when the assistants speak, and ironically, one of the most interesting --- and insightful --- comments from the session, came from none other than Lane Kiffin. The always goofy, quick to troll Tennessee fans Kiffin, was asked about what he’s learned in two years under Nick Saban.
He was also asked how Saban compares to another one of Kiffin’s highly-successful former bosses: Pete Carroll.
“People always ask how they’re alike,” Kiffin told reporters. “They’re extremely different in almost everything, but one thing they do have a belief system of how they do what they do. Everything that happens, they have the answer to. It really doesn’t change.”
From there, Kiffin continued.
“The second thing both guys have in common is they’re phenomenal recruiters. You see the draft picks at USC and here, obviously great players help. Anybody can do something one time. You have a great year because everything goes right. But can you maintain it and sustain it for a long period of time as Coach Carroll did and Coach Saban?”
While the second comment is pretty obvious, the first one isn’t, which is what makes it all the more fascinating. After all, we always heard about Carroll’s confidence, the whole ‘Win Forever’ mantra, and the belief that if you work hard, and stick to script good things can happen. That’s ultimately very similar to Saban’s ‘The Process,’ however, it wasn’t until Kiffin articulated it that I realized how similar the two really are.
From there Kiffin was asked what he has learned specifically from Saban, and how he could potentially one day use it, if he is ever to become a head coach again.
“I think it’s like a player, where a freshman comes in, then sophomore and junior year, you see him continue to grow and understand why things are done the way they are. I kind of feel that way,” Kiffin said. “I feel like I’m continuing to learn, continuing to grow under Coach. It’s really such a great experience to see all the things that happen in the program, how he handles it, all the situations.
“If you’re just around for one year, I don’t think you get to experience all the different things. I’m excited to go into this third year with a lot of challenges on offense.”
It really is fascinating stuff, considering that Kiffin might be the only person in America (or at least the only one I’m aware of) who had a front row seat to witness two of the greatest coaches in the history of college football work at their crafts.
While Saban and Carroll don’t seem to have much in common on the surface, it turns out that these two true icons of college football have more in common than you’d think.
