Alabama
Can Lane Kiffin be Alabama football’s Nick Saban successor? He’s expressed doubts
OXFORD — Nick Saban is retiring as Alabama football’s coach after 17 seasons and seven total national championships. And fourth-year Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin will be one of the names thrown around when it comes to Saban’s replacement.
Kiffin, 48, served as offensive coordinator under Saban in Tuscaloosa for three seasons, winning a pair of national titles before renewing his head coaching career at FAU in 2017.
But, among the national media reporting on the situation in the immediate aftermath, Kiffin’s name isn’t at the top of the list. Action Network insider Brett McMurphy touted Oregon coach Dan Lanning as Alabama’s most likely target. ESPN reporter Pete Thamel listed Lanning, Kalen DeBoer, Dabo Swinney, James Franklin, Mike Norvell and Marcus Freeman as possible targets.
Kiffin himself has expressed doubts when it comes to replacing Saban, for whom he has maintained great respect since leaving Alabama.
“What could you possibly do right if you don’t win the national championship every year?” Kiffin told USA TODAY’s Blake Toppmeyer in 2022 . “‘You’re going to follow Nick Saban at Alabama?’ No, that would not be a good decision for anyone.”
Why Alabama football would make sense for Lane Kiffin
The pull of the Alabama job can come down to one word: Ceiling.
The Crimson Tide has won six national championships since 2009. It has played for three more. Ole Miss just finished its first 11-win season ever. Alabama has won 11 games in every season since 2010.
Since 2011, Alabama has finished atop 247Sports’ recruiting class rankings more than half the time. The level of player consistently available to the Crimson Tide is different than what Kiffin has access to at Ole Miss.
Comments Kiffin made after the Rebels got pummeled this season by Georgia, a program with a similar blue-chip ratio to Alabama’s, are relevant here.
“We would have to recruit at a better level, do a better job of recruiting,” Kiffin said when asked what the Rebels have to do to compete with Georgia.
Kiffin’s familiarity with the program is certainly a factor as well. And, though Kiffin is one of the best-compensated coaches in the sport, earning over $9 million in 2023 once bonuses are considered, a switch to the Crimson Tide would almost certainly come with a considerable pay rise.
Why Alabama football wouldn’t make sense for Lane Kiffin
All of the points above about Alabama’s ability to require talent at a level Ole Miss can’t belong to a different era of college football.
Alabama, before NIL and the transfer portal changed the sport beyond measure, operated at a level reachable by a select few. Have those changes, and the impending 12-team playoff, made the game’s top tier more accessible?
Ole Miss intends to find out.
The Rebels have one of the best NIL infrastructures in college athletics. And it has translated into sustained success in the transfer portal, culminating in Ole Miss’ best class yet this offseason.
Even so, it’s certainly more difficult to win at the highest level at Ole Miss than it is at Alabama. But that fact comes with intense pressure to deliver. At Ole Miss, Kiffin can sustain an 8-5 season like the one he endured in 2022. He’d lead every hot seat list on the internet if he went 8-5 early in his Alabama tenure.
There are family factors at play for Kiffin in Oxford, too. Even if he covets the Alabama job, it might make more sense to wait.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
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SPANISH FORT, Ala. (WALA) – The YMCA of South Alabama held a Healthy Kids Day at Spanish Fort Town Center Park.
Saturday’s event featured games and demonstrations, along with interactive activities featuring police and fire vehicles.
“I think just seeing so many organizations come together that serve kids, and just seeing kids have fun,” said Gwen Summer, CEO of the YMCA of South Alabama.
Marissa Rennaker, director of development for the YMCA of South Alabama, said the event exposed children to new activities.
“I think it’s been seeing all the kids laugh and try different things that they probably haven’t tried before,” Rennaker said. “There was a big group doing pickleball and yoga. We had ballet earlier, so just getting them out and exposed to things, I think it’s been great.”
The event was designed to kick off a healthy, active summer.
The YMCA of South Alabama is located at 27080 Pollard Road in Daphne.
Copyright 2026 WALA. All rights reserved.
Former Alabama star Will Anderson Jr. has reportedly signed a three-year, $150 million extension with the Houston Texans, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Anderson instantly solidified himself as one of the top defensive players in football throughout his rookie campaign in 2023. The star defensive end was named as the Rookie of the Year in 2023, as Anderson’s extension will officially keep him in Houston long-term, as well as make him the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Anderson recorded an impressive 12 sacks on the Texans’ defensive line in 2025, as the former Alabama star has made history following his head turning extension with Houston.
Anderson was nothing short of a superstar throughout his time at Alabama. Houston drafted the talented lineman with the third overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft, as Anderson was widely regarded as one of the top overall selections from his class.
The former Crimson Tide superstar has officially inked a massive extension with the Texans, as Anderson will undoubtedly continue playing a critical role on Houston’s defensive line over the coming seasons.
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Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn said that No. 4 Texas would be “hungry” against the No. 11Crimson Tide coming off its first series loss of the season to Texas A&M.
The Longhorns certainly were, as they pounced all over Vaughn’s team, striking out 17 Alabama batters en route to a 10-2 win.
“The story of the game was they just kind of kicked our tail in every phase tonight,” Vaughn said.
Alabama starter Tyler Fay had been elite over his past four starts, dating back to his complete-game no-hitter against Florida, allowing just six earned runs over the 26.0 innings pitched in those games. That changed instantly on Friday evening, as leadoff batter Aiden Robbins opened the game with a double and catcher Carson Tinney took him deep for a two-run blast moments later.
Texas added a third run in the first off an Ethan Mendoza RBI double, setting the tone for a dominant day. Alabama did not record a hit until the fourth inning as Longhorn ace Dylan Volantis tore through batters, striking out 12 over six innings.
Fay ended up going 5.1 innings, just the second time he did not make it through the sixth. The other, against Auburn, was only due to Vaughn wanting to keep his pitch count down in the wake of the no-hitter. He allowed season-highs of seven earned runs and 12 hits in the loss.
The Longhorns added a run each in the third and the fifth, before Alabama put the slightest amount of pressure on Texas in the top of the sixth. Bryce Fowler and Justin Lebron scored on the basepaths off an error and a wild pitch, respectively, to cut the Texas lead to three runs.
“You’ve got to find ways to score,” Vaughn said. “Those two guys just created two runs for us, and did a great job creating those runs and we crawl back in at 5-2, and it’s like, ‘Let’s go back to work…’ So thought we had that chance in those middle innings.”
The Longhorns effectively put the game to bed in the next frame, responding with three runs as Fay was relieved by Connor Lehman. Texas would add two more runs on the day, with the only silver lining coming in the fact that Alabama avoided a run-rule.
The Crimson Tide has now lost four straight SEC games after winning three consecutive series. Zane Adams takes the mound with the series on the line on Saturday, in a game that has been moved up to 12 p.m. CT due to anticipated rain in Austin.
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