Kiffin again questions who called Tide’s defense
-
Alex Scarborough, ESPN Staff Writer
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin doubled down on his accusation that Alabama defensive coordinator Kevin Steele wasn’t calling plays for the Crimson Tide during their 17-3 win over South Florida last Saturday.
Kiffin told reporters Monday that he wasn’t attempting to make waves when he said Sunday that it appeared that defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson had taken over playcalling duties after Alabama’s loss to Texas — something Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban had not announced.
Ole Miss travels to play Alabama on Saturday.
“I was asked the question, ‘What’s it like going against Steele’s defense?’ I wasn’t trying to start this big thing,” Kiffin said. “We saw things on TV copy just where it was different. First off, of what the play looked like — the calls and stuff. And so we looked into that further. And then it ain’t no secret that people in these buildings know each other, so we obviously got some information that way, too.”
Unprompted, Alabama coach Nick Saban refuted that suggestion during his Monday news conference.
“On this other thing I hear floating around out there — I’m sure you’ve seen the same reports that I’ve seen — is that Kevin Steele is the defensive coordinator,” Saban said. “He has all the defensive coordinator responsibilities. The only thing that we tried to improve from an administrative standpoint was game day administration of getting the signals in quicker, alright? So that was the only thing we worked on as a staff, and the whole staff made a contribution to it and I think it was a lot better in this game [against USF] than it was in the Texas game.”
Alabama, which lost to Texas 34-24, rebounded defensively to beat USF 17-3.
Steele, 65, is on his third stint working for Saban at Alabama. He originally joined the staff during Saban’s first year in 2007 as defensive coordinator.
Steele, who coached linebackers at Alabama during Kiffin’s time as offensive coordinator in 2014, returned as defensive coordinator this offseason after holding in the same position at LSU, Auburn, and Miami.
On Monday, Kiffin reiterated his appreciation for Saban hiring him on the heels of his firing as head coach at USC.
“People give people opportunities all the time,” Kiffin said. “But the things I learned from him defensively, things I learned from him organizationally — discipline. I’m extremely grateful to him. He really helped him at a really challenging time in my life.”
Saban said that Ole Miss is a good team and “Lane has done a good job with the program.”
“This is one of the best offensive teams in the country in terms of the things they do, the multiples they have,” he said.
He later added, “We’re going to have to play our best and we need to improve to be able to do that.”
-
Greg Wyshynski
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the NHL is warning teams against taking warmups without helmets, a growing trend this season that violates NHL rules.
Daly told ESPN that the league is sending out a memo to remind teams that helmets are mandatory in warmups for “all players who entered the NHL beginning with the 2019-2020 season or later,” per Rule 9.6.
The Ottawa Senators skated out for warmups without helmets in a game at the Vegas Golden Knights last Wednesday, having lost in their past six trips to T-Mobile Arena. Forward Shane Pinto told TSN that the players decided at a team dinner to change their Vegas luck by doffing their helmets. “It was pretty cool to do,” he said.
The Senators won the game 4-3 in a shootout.
The San Jose Sharks also went without helmets in warmups in Vegas, having lost five straight road games to the Knights. Alas, their luck didn’t change, losing 4-3 to their division rival. Forward Will Smith said there was no particular motivation for it.
“It was a team decision. It was Saturday night in Vegas, so I think all the guys were pretty easy to [do] it,” he said.
On Tuesday night, the New Jersey Devils skated out wearing hats instead of helmets, in honor of defenseman Brenden Dillon‘s 1,000th NHL game.
Rule 9.6 reads:
“It is mandatory for all players who entered the NHL beginning with the 2019-2020 season or later to wear their helmet during pre-game warm-up. To be clear, all players who entered the League prior to the 2019-2020 season and who are currently playing are exempt from this mandate.”
The NHL amended its rules in 2022 to mandate helmet usage in warmups out of player safety concerns, in particular with rookies who took the ice without helmets before their debut games as part of a longstanding NHL tradition. Much like the league’s visor rule, some veteran players were “grandfathered” in and exempt.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024