Lane Kiffin gives hilarious response to Nick Saban, Sydney Thomas picture: 'We have the answer'

Nick Saban took a photo with social media sensation Sydney Thomas on the golf course on Monday, which has gone since viral across multiple platforms.

Thomas, who was the ring girl for the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight, said in a recent podcast interview that a college football coach from the SEC slid into her direct messages. That coach has not been revealed, but the photo opportunity’s comedic timing has led to many joking that it’s Saban who messaged her.

Naturally, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin chimed in to add fuel to the fire.

“We have the answer,” Kiffin’s tweet read, refrencing the viral rumors. “RTR.”

We have the answer. RTR @AlabamaFTBL https://t.co/ALWR1NFE8J

— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) January 14, 2025

Perhaps Kiffin is on to something — if Saban used social media. The longtime Crimson Tide headman has never joined X or Instagram. He’s certainly never used TikTok. However, the social media star is a student at the University of Alabama and is a big fan of Coach Saban.

Of course, the current Ole Miss head coach previously worked for Nick Saban at Alabama from 2014-2016 as the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Over the past couple of days though, Thomas has come into the news for revealing a fascinating piece of information, as she said in a recent podcast interview that a college football coach from the SEC slid into her direct messages.

“It was from another SEC football team coach. And they just DM’d me, ‘Roll Tide,’” she said, via the Like a Farmer podcast when asked about the “craziest DM” she received, via FOX News. “So I’m not going to say what coach it was, but they’re an Alabama fan, now at least. We’ll let everyone else figure that out for themselves, who it was.”

Thankfully for Nick Saban, he’s retired and doesn’t fit the description of who Thomas described. For the rest of the SEC, at least one coach is guilty of sliding in her DMs.

That’s why Kiffin’s tweet is fueled with such irony. Curious social media users have gathered the assumption that Kiffin, who is known for his constant use of X and other social media platforms, could have been the coach who messaged Thomas. That’s all speculation, which makes Kiffin’s response all the more comical.

On3’s Steve Samra contributed to this report.