Who is SEC's Leader Following Nick Saban's Retirement? Lane Kiffin Reveals His Answer

Lane Kiffin has a long tenure within the Southeastern Conference, but who is the "leader" in the head coaching room after Nick Saban's retirement?

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin (left) and former Alabama head coach Nick Saban / Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

The college football world was taken by storm this offseason when long-time Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban announced his retirement. Saban spent 22 years as a head coach in the Southeastern Conference (17 with the Tide), and the league will have a very different feel without him on the sidelines this fall.

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin worked under Saban as Alabama's offensive coordinator from 2014-16, and he has never been shy about praising his former boss. This week at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Fla., Kiffin was asked about the feel of the event without Saban's presence and who had taken his role as a leader among the head coaches.

His answer was, in fact, a Saban disciple...just not Kiffin himself.

"It was very strange not having Coach Saban," Kiffin said. "I was actually in these meetings in '08, '09 at Tennessee with Coach Saban. Greg Sankey was the assistant commissioner at the time. Greg and I are the only ones left now that Coach is gone. I think Kirby [Smart] kind of took over and is the lead now."

Smart is the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs and was on Saban's staff from 2007-15, serving as defensive coordinator for a majority of that time. He also has two national championships to his name, and while that is a far cry from Saban's mark of seven, he appears to be the new leader in the clubhouse, in Kiffin's eyes.

This year will mark Kiffin's sixth as a head coach in the SEC and his ninth in the conference as a whole, but national titles go a long way in the coaching industry, and that's one honor that has yet to be claimed under his leadership.

Georgia and Ole Miss met in Athens a season ago in a game that went poorly for the Rebels, seeing the Bulldogs claim a 52-17 win. The two teams will meet again this fall in Oxford on Nov. 9.