Nick Saban has taught Lane Kiffin about coaching, but his jokes still need work

Lane Kiffin’s jokes haven’t improved much since he was fired at USC in 2013.

The Alabama offensive coordinator heard crickets when he cracked one Sunday during a rare interview session with reporters at the Cotton Bowl, about Ezekiel Elliott’s lack of carries for Ohio State in a loss to Michigan State earlier this season.

However, the former USC coach rattled off a list of things he has learned, and perhaps has improved on, in two seasons coaching under Nick Saban, the “CEO” of the Crimson Tide.

“I made a lot of mistakes which were focusing completely on football and just worried about football and the Xs and O’s of it,” Kiffin told reporters. “Then you see what he does. Whether it is taking time to meet with another sport’s recruits, the focus that he has towards the donors, towards academics, towards the individual meetings with our kids when things are going on, always on the phone with recruits or our own players’ families when there are issues coming up.”

USC finished 10-2 under Kiffin in 2011 and was ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason poll in 2012 before the Trojans stumbled to a 7-6 finish, including a loss to Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl.

“I don’t think we grew any,” Kiffin said about his 2012 team. “What I did was just expect that we could just go do what we did and do it again.”

USC Athletic Director Pat Haden fired Kiffin after a 3-2 start in 2013.

Kiffin is reportedly expected to remain at Alabama in 2016.

USC and Alabama will play in a season opener on Sept. 3 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

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