Since LSU and Florida decided to fire their coaches in the middle of the season, Lane Kiffin has practically already been plugged as the next head coach for one of those two schools. While Kiffin himself remains focused on coaching Ole Miss this season and has not confirmed or denied interest in leaving Oxford for one of those programs, many believe he could not turn down either opportunity.
LSU is widely considered one of the top coaching jobs in the country between the program's pedigree, the state's love for the University and little in-state competition for local recruits. Meanwhile Kiffin has ties to Florida and grew up loving legendary Gators coach Steve Spurrier.
Despite the allure of LSU and Florida, Nick Saban doesn't necessarily think either job is necessarily better for Kiffin than his current position at Ole Miss.
“Jobs that weren’t great jobs before are now," Saban told Chris Low on On3. "Lane is the first name up for Florida and the first name up for LSU, but I think you can have a long debate on whether either one of those jobs is actually better than the job he has now because he has some guys over there at Ole Miss that give him pretty much whatever he wants from a roster standpoint.
"Maybe you’ve got alumni who are passionate about football, but are they willing to invest what you have to invest now to win? Because a lot of people don’t believe in this s—," Saban added.
Kiffin has built a successful program at Ole Miss, turning the Rebels into a College Football Playoff contender this season. Along with this, Saban sees what makes a job great much differently now—it's all about which school has the money they're willing to spend on players.
“That’s changed dramatically, the whole question of what constitutes the best job,” Saban told On3. “What used to make a job great was facilities, fan support, good academic support, recruiting base and being able to create value for the players. Now that has been minimized to how much money do you have to spend on building a roster. That is the most important thing by far.”
It's unclear if Kiffin will end up seriously considering a different job or leaving Ole Miss, but if he does decide to stay, he might be in the best opportunity for himself after all.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Nick Saban Believes LSU, Florida Might Not Be Best Fits for Lane Kiffin.