BOCA RATON, Fla. – Lane Kiffin might not have left Alabama the way he envisioned, but he was nothing but complimentary about his former boss during a recent interview with ESPN.
"How dumb would I be not to copy a lot of what Nick Saban did?" Kiffin told ESPN from the campus of Florida Atlantic University, where he was named head football coach at the Boca Raton school in December.
Kiffin spent the last three seasons as Saban's offensive coordinator at Alabama, but he and Saban parted ways days before the Crimson Tide played Clemson for the national championship in Tampa. Alabama lost 35-31 after Clemson scored the go-ahead touchdown with one second left.
Kiffin admitted that it was difficult to manage the Alabama offense while assembling a coaching staff at FAU. He said it was equally as difficult to watch the game on television.
Asked about the future of FAU football, Kiffin said he's not sure how long it will take to get the program where it needs to be.
"There's way too many variables, so we're not worried about that," Kiffin said. "That's the outcome. You know, we're into the process, which is what we're doing every day."