Lane Kiffin sends 3-word message to Terry Saban after Penn State remarks

mississippi rebels coach lane kiffin during game

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Matthew Couden

By Matthew Couden

Contributing Writer

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One of the biggest stories in college football is who could become the next head coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions. Weeks ago, the school fired James Franklin from the job amid a 3-3 start to the season. After his 12 seasons there, Franklin's overall record was 104-45.

Fans, analysts, and even Nick Saban’s wife, Terry Saban, have since speculated about or mentioned potential candidates. However, Terry's remarks were seemingly a playful jab at several "baby coaches" in college football, including current Mississippi Rebels coach Lane Kiffin.

Terry appeared on ESPN's College Gameday, which features her husband on the panel along with Pat McAfee and others. During the show, McAfee mentioned some potential names for the Penn State job might include Jon Gruden or Nick Saban. However, he asked Terry if Penn State offered $50 million, would they take the job?

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"I have no doubt if Nick wanted to go back to coaching, he could win his eighth national championship. But we’re having too much fun, and we wouldn’t want to take that opportunity away from all of our baby coaches. Like Kirby and Lane," Terry said on ESPN's show.

Kiffin, 50, has notably coached the Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Volunteers, and USC Trojans during his career. Terry also referenced Kirby Smart, 49, who currently coaches Georgia. Kiffin's Ole Miss team plays Smart's Georgia in a battle of ranked SEC teams on Saturday.

mississippi rebels coach lane kiffin during game

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After seeing an X post from On3Sports with Terry's troll remarks towards him, he shared the post along with a simple three-word message for her.

"Thanks Mrs. Terry," he wrote, also reacting with a crying laughing emoji at her playful jab.

View this post on X

It was all good fun, and based on Terry's remarks, it doesn't appear that Nick Saban has any interest in returning to the sidelines as a coach. He officially ended his coaching career in 2023 after 17 seasons and multiple national championships.

As of this report, Lane Kiffin has an 111-52 overall record in college, with a 4-4 record in Bowl games. He's been the Ole Miss coach since 2020. Kiffin has yet to win a national championship as head coach.

He's previously won three, though, twice while in assistant coach roles, including him working as an offensive coordinator with Saban at Alabama in 2015.

Would coaching Penn State get Kiffin his first championship as head coach, though? The Nittany Lions successfully reached the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs last season, with Notre Dame defeating them 27-24. This season's Penn State team is struggling, so far.

However, Kiffin's Ole Miss is currently undefeated and ranked No. 5 in the Top 25 for college football, so he's probably much more interested in staying there, for now.