The Athletic : The unspoken reason Lane Kiffin chose Ole Miss? Revenge against Nick Saban

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Lane Kiffin is gunning for Nick Saban.

It’s been nearly three years since Saban unceremoniously fired Kiffin, his offensive coordinator, two days after Alabama beat Washington in the 2016 College Football Playoff semifinal at the Peach Bowl. Saban fired Kiffin a week before the national championship game. Kiffin was embarrassed. Kiffin was angry. Kiffin hasn’t forgotten.

That dismissal fueled Kiffin’s desire to return to the SEC and a burning passion to exact revenge on Saban, multiple people with knowledge of the matter told The Athletic. Now that he’s the head coach at Ole Miss, he sees the chance to do so.

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In his biggest coup attempt, Kiffin offered Alabama strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran an on-the-field coaching position to try to steal him from Saban, multiple people close to the Alabama program told The Athletic.

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Those same people said Kiffin also has interest in Alabama secondary coach Karl Scott, former Alabama defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi and former Alabama defensive line coach Bo Davis, among others.

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Now he has a chance to pay back Saban — both on and off the field. Kiffin is attempting to raid Saban’s staff both present and past. He’ll also target Saban on the recruiting trail, said multiple people who spoke to The Athletic.

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