Nick Saban responds to Lane Kiffin's claims of Alabama changing DCs
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Lane Kiffin suspects Nick Saban has changed play-callers on defense.
In his first Sunday press conference of the season, the Ole Miss coach revealed his belief that Alabama defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who watches the game from the press box, is no longer calling plays and that secondary coach Travaris Robinson has taken over.
“We’ve been against Kevin a number of times,” Kiffin said Sunday. “Worked with him at Alabama and against him at Auburn and LSU. There seems like there’s been a change there. I don’t know what happened after the Texas game, but our guys watching the TV copy and schematically in this last game, certainly seems like T-Rob’s now calling the defense.
“We played him before at South Carolina, so we’re preparing accordingly for him calling the defense. He’s done a good job, too, and they’ve got really good players.”
Saban added Steele as his defensive coordinator this offseason after Pete Golding left Alabama for the same job at Ole Miss. Steele is no stranger to the Crimson Tide program, having served two previous stints, including one as Saban’s first defensive coordinator in 2007. He does not coach a specific position group but oversees the entire Alabama defense.
Robinson is in Year 2 with the Tide, and after coaching the cornerbacks last season, he took over the whole defensive backfield this season. Robinson has experience as a coordinator, however, leading the South Carolina Gamecocks defense for five years from 2016-20.
On Monday, to kick off Ole Miss week, Saban addressed Kiffin’s comments right away.
“This other thing that I hear floating around out there – I’m sure you’ve seen the same reports that I’ve seen — is Kevin Steele is the defensive coordinator,” Saban said. “He has all the defensive coordinator responsibilities. The only thing that we tried to improve on from an administrative standpoint was game day administration of getting the signals in quicker.
“That’s the only thing that we worked on together as a staff. The whole staff made a contribution to it, and I think it was a lot better in this game than it was in the Texas game.”
On Monday, Kiffin was asked about his Sunday comments.
“I wasn’t really trying to start this big thing,” Kiffin said. “We saw things on TV copy just where it was different, first off with the playbook, the calls and stuff. We looked into that further. It ain’t no secret: People in these buildings know each other. We got some information that way, too.
“It is what it is, kind of like the quarterbacks. You prepare for a different quarterback and prepare for a different play-caller. I’m not sure whatever transpired after Texas, but we’re going to have our hands full no matter what.”
Alabama-Ole Miss will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 26. It will air on CBS.
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