Lane Kiffin denies being told by Alabama's Nick Saban to leave

Alabama head coach Nick Saban, left,  talks with Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, right, during practice for the Southeastern Conference Championship NCAA college football game where they will play Florida, Friday, Dec. 2, 2016, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Alabama head coach Nick Saban, left, talks with Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, right, during practice for the Southeastern Conference Championship NCAA college football game where they will play Florida, Friday, Dec. 2, 2016, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

We're working on it.

No, we're not.

Such was the latest chapter of the bizarre saga that has become Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin as No. 1-ranked Alabama prepares to face No. 2 Clemson in Monday night's college football championship game in Tampa.

After the university sent out a release Monday stating that Saban and Kiffin mutually decided to part ways and that Steve Sarkisian would call the plays against the Tigers, the former offensive coordinator went on ESPN's "Mike & Mike" morning radio show Tuesday and expressed a desire "to do what's needed in any capacity" to help the Crimson Tide.

Asked if he would assist in Tampa, Kiffin said, "We are checking that out," adding that he didn't think he would be allowed on Alabama's sideline but that he could help from the coaching booth.

Saban, on a conference call early Tuesday afternoon, sent a very different message.

"It's really not even possible from a legal standpoint for him to do those things," Saban said. "That's not something that we're interested in pursuing."

Tuesday evening's 75-minute practice in helmets and shorts was the first with Sarkisian as offensive coordinator.

Sarkisian was hired by Saban as an offensive analyst at the start of the season and was named as Kiffin's successor last month after Kiffin had agreed to become the new head coach at Florida Atlantic. He was not involved with the players in practice but assisted Kiffin with the planning and organization.

Saban quickly became terse when multiple questions regarding Kiffin were asked, and Clemson counterpart Dabo Swinney is not expecting drastic changes Monday night.

"I guess you might have some nuances that might be looked at from a play call or something like that," Swinney said, "but it's not like they're going to come out and run the triple-option. They're going to dance with who brought them, and it's just as simple as that.

"Maybe it would have been a little different if they had a month to get ready, but you've basically got a game week to prepare, so they're not going to vary too far, and why would they? They've won 26 in a row, so I don't think they're going to do much different."

Kiffin said on "Mike & Mike" that an ESPN report claiming he was late for Peach Bowl meetings leading up to last Saturday's 24-7 win over Washington was "absolutely not true." He added that his relationship with Saban was getting "better and better" and that he wound up leaving on his own.

"This was a decision that I came up with," he said. "This was not something that Nick Saban forced me to do by any means. If I wanted to coach this game, I would have coached this game, but I just thought that it wasn't the best thing for the players. I saw (former Alabama defensive coordinator) Kirby (Smart) struggle with it a year ago, and if we had lost because I wasn't 100 percent focused and didn't put our players in position to win, then I couldn't live with that."

Tide tidbits

Three members of Alabama's 2017 signing class - defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs, athlete Chadarius Townsend and defensive back Kyriq McDonald - were spotted at practice Tuesday. Official kickoff time for Monday night's game is 8:17.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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