Lane Kiffin sounds off on conversations he, Nick Saban say never took place

There's the classic, not-so-gentle reminder from Nick Saban that still makes its rounds on social media clips about a sideline discussion from Saban's years with Lane Kiffin as his Alabama offensive coordinator.

"That's an ass-chewing," Saban emphasizes, rather than indicating anything other than a one-way conversation.

But Kiffin and Saban continue to have an evolving relationship, and Kiffin routinely praises the newly retired college football coaching titan for Saban's role on Kiffin's career Renaissaance.

So, Kiffin didn't mind during his Monday press conference in advance of Saturday's season-opener at home against Furman to dive a bit more into his relationship with Saban while also taking aim at an upcoming book, a portion of which is receiving some attention on various Web sites and even Pat McAfee's eponymous show.

"As time has continued go on and get further removed, I had even more appreciation for Coach," Kiffin says Monday, five days before his No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels open arguably the program's season of greatest expectations in the modern era. "What he did for my career in taking a chance on me and then what I learned from him over three years. Every day there was something that I pull from.

"He was asked about those comments ... I think it's a shame when people make comments and they write things with quotation marks and then the coach or the agent says they've never even spoken to the writer about that subject. So, I think that's why he seemed kind of upset when they put those words to him or to Jimmy (Sexton) when both people say they never had that conversation with either writer."

Sources told FootballScoop that Sexton, the kingpin of college football who heads up CAA's division of agents, was not interviewed for the upcoming, the portion of which is sparking controversy and is well-chronicled here by FootballScoop's Zach Barnett.  

Worth noting, Saban vehemently denied the alleged conversation and said, "I never made a quote about Lane Kiffin, so that wasn't me."