I hope that's right. I've developed some concern about the chemistry between Kiffin and Saban...
Saban says very nice things about CLK, and always has. However, he wouldn't bad mouth anybody let alone is own OC. So I know what you mean.
Saban is a guy whose intensity does not often come through in his pressers. His public face always includes measured phraseology such as ".. continue to improve.." and ".. put ourselves in a position to have success..", but his gameday demeanor is extremely intense and demanding.
He is more forgiving of mistakes when they are appropriate to a player's level of development. Coaches are "fully" developed and I suspect his tolerance is low, and although I have heard him refer to an on-field error (usually without specifically naming the player) I don't think I have ever heard him blame an assistant.
My current beefs with the offense (minor beefs, bearing in mind 3-0):
- the long ball, probably to do with Sims, but he is very good everywhere else
- Cooper gets 75% of the receptions, but this is obviously because Cooper gets loose and also defenses must respect the excellence of other receivers even if they are not catching much
- Where is OJ?
Seems to me Kiffin has been told to sandbag the offense and just run bread-n-butter plays. However there is not much thinking involved if you are just calling inside zones and screens, so it would have been nice to see better sideline-to-huddle management.