Kirk Herbstreit calls out Nick Saban on ESPN College GameDay

Few people ever get away with correcting Nick Saban, but Kirk Herbstreit made an exception on ESPN's College GameDay. With the topic of the day turning to coaching staffs and how to handle the moves of coaches to new programs, Saban dipped into his past to discuss the protocol for such a situation. But Herbstreit remembered a bit more of the past than Saban did and let him hear it.

Saban Recalls Kirby (and a smooth transition)

Discussing the disfunction in college coaching circles regarding during-postseason staff departures, Saban reached into his back pages and made things sound simple by how he handled Kirby Smart leaving Alabama for the Georgia job.

Kirby left right after we won the SEC Championship and we're gong to the Playoffs. I said, 'OK, you can go these days and do this, and you can go to the bowl game. Here's when we're going to practice, here's when I expect you to be here.' We never had a problem.
Nick Saban

Herbstreit points out a different story

While that was true, Herbstreit reminded Saban there was a bit more history than he cared to be remember.

But you did tell Lane [Kiffin] to leave after the semifinal against Washington? You're getting ready and Sark took over the playcalling. There was that one example.
Kirk Herbstreit

History on Herbstreit's Side

Herbstreit's memory was accurate. After the 2016 regular season, Lane Kiffin accepted the Florida Atlantic head coaching job. Alabama bested Washington in the CFP semifinal and Saban then basically sent Kiffin packing, letting Steve Sarkisian call plays for the national title game against Clemson.

Saban Answers

Saban defended his decision, but was clearly flustered by Herbstreit bringing up the situation-- enough so that his misidentified the school he was then coaching as LSU.

That was a situation where Lane was struggling to handle taking a new job, hiring a new staff, recruiting new players at a new place, which was Florida Atlantic, and doing his job at LSU the way the players and the rest of the staff thought he should. So we mutually agreed that it would be better for him to just move on.
Nick Saban

Coaching Transition Quagmire

Kirk Herbstreit just called out Nick Saban on Gameday for telling Lane Kiffin he had to leave once he took the FAU job.

This was right after Saban said he let Kirby Smart stay to finish the season when he took the Georgia job. https://t.co/1qv5PkFPSy pic.twitter.com/u0ZJwL63TZ
— Thad Wells (@ThadWells) December 6, 2025

The ultimate point of the whole Saban/Herbstreit exchange is that there clearly isn't one prototype way to handle these awkward situations of coaches who are half-in and half-out of jobs. While Saban's memory reached to a place where it all flowed smoothly, Herbstreit was quick to remind him that even a legendary college head coach didn't always have all the answers for a complex situation.