Kalen DeBoer Responds To Kiffin's Kickoff Comments As Alabama Staff Prepares for LSU

Kalen DeBoer and Kane Wommack were both asked about Kiffin ahead of the Crimson Tide's trip to Baton Rouge.

Dec 19, 2025; Norman, OK, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen Deboer (left) and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack against the Oklahoma Sooners during the CFP National Playoff First Round at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — If you expected Lane Kiffin not to create headlines ahead of Alabama's trip to Baton Rouge, you were sorely mistaken.

The first-year LSU head coach commented on the game's 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff time last week, insinuating that the SEC was punishing the Tigers for their legal fight against the conference by not scheduling the matchup as a night game. Saturday will mark the first time since 2010 that LSU has hosted Alabama in a daytime window.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer dismissed the notion that the Crimson Tide has an advantage because of the kickoff time.

"We’re on the road, so, you know, I’d rather play at home if we want to have all these advantages,” DeBoer said. “But with the earlier kick... I don’t get to choose that, I guess. So, I don’t have any choice in that. It is what it is. We just got to show up and play.”

Kiffin, as he typically does, looms large over this matchup. Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack highlighted the connection he and his father have with the Kiffin family, including Lane's father, Monte Kiffin, and brother, Chris Kiffin (currently on LSU's staff).

"Chris Kiffin and I worked together for a while," Wommack said. "Matter of fact, my dad, actually, his first job was with Monte. I think Lane was like four years old back in 1979, 80, something like that at the University of Arkansas. So we go way back."

Wommack has coached against Kiffin once, as Indiana's defensive coordinator in the 2020 Outback Bowl (now the ReliaQuest Bowl). Kiffin's Ole Miss team won 26-20 to cap off his first season with the Rebels, and Wommack left for South Alabama in the following weeks. While much has changed over the past six years, the value of the experience of having coached against the opponent before remains.

"There are things that in any game plan, right, when you're facing someone, that you have to be aware of," Wommack said. "What is it that is their identity on game day that maybe you can't just see when you're watching all 22 on tape, right? So that's why I watch a lot of live copy, you know, TV copy, so that I can get a feel for the game. How are they calling it? What's the tempo of the game? Things like that, so you get a feel from that standpoint."

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok for the latest Alabama news.