Lane Kiffin

I'd like to think I'm always going to defend our players.

I know I rubbed people the wrong way.

Other kids were watching John Elway. I was watching Tom Landry.

When you're little you either want to be like your dad or be directly opposite.

I'm not really big on humiliating assistant coaches in front of everybody.

In the end what matters is, do you develop your team, do you win games and do you graduate your players.

You have to be yourself. You can't pretend to be somebody else.

People always say, 'Do you get bothered by what people say or blog or write about you?' I only do if I know them. If I know them, and I have a relationship with them and they write that, then that would surprise me a lot. Usually the people writing the negative stuff don't know me at all.

If there's a group of articles written about me, I can usually tell the difference if someone's writing an article and they know me from someone who doesn't know me. They're usually very different.

I think of things as competition when people say you can't do something.

I really enjoy challenges.

If something comes on the radio or in print, I don't think there are any facts to it at all until someone shows some proof.

As far as the bowl games, I don't think the players really play for that. Not at USC.

Anybody can get a job, but what do you do when you have it?

I don't think you've done something by getting a job. I think you've done something by proving you can succeed at that job.

I guess I should say I like to do things that people say you can't do.

I just like to do things that aren't supposed to be done.

You know what I didn't realize at the time is a really good blessing, is that I was a really crappy player.

In college I was so mad I wasn't playing. The two guys in front of me were Billy Volek and David Carr, but I just realized that was a blessing in disguise, that I was so bad and I never played, so my brain's good.

I just like to have fun with the fans.

You can't troll somebody who doesn't see it.

I don't really think before I tweet.

You want a job where the pressure is on and expectations are high.

To be able to go through what I've gone through and still be fortunate before the age of 40 to still be here to be offensive coordinator with Coach Saban at Alabama, you take some time to reflect on that.

I think as you make mistakes, the No. 1 thing you've got to do is learn from them and not just make excuses for them. I've made more than anybody, probably.

You don't win championships by having the cheapest budget.

You never want your dad to introduce you to a girl.

I have begun to realize just how amazing God's plan can be.

Everything we own really belongs to God, we are just renting it, and when we die those things are going to become somebody else's possessions.

There's not a day goes by that I don't ask, What would Coach Saban do?

Three years under Saban changed me. He's the best coach in the world at what he does.

I like to make people laugh.

A Tennessee fan mailed me things I signed for him because they said they don't want this trash in their house. So they mailed it back to me.

I should have been paying Coach Saban instead of them paying me because of the amount of knowledge that you learn in three years, and you view 'The Process.'

I've always valued more where I work for and the fans and the current players than what the national perception is of me.

That's what I expect from the players - perfection.

In general, I do not feel the media is very positive toward game performances unless the players play perfectly.

I make mistakes, and sometimes in split seconds. Then seconds later I know how wrong I was.

I'm always willing to look at my actions, and do them better.

We aspire to be like Jim Harbaugh. No, seriously, he does a great job.

People's perception changes so fast. You win, and people say, 'Well, he had all of those sanctions at USC, and that's why he lost.' You lose, and, 'OK, he's a bad head coach, and he's just a good play-caller wherever he has been.'

I don't think there's a person out there who can say they haven't done something they regret.

I always try to find better ways to do things. Whether it's a game plan, a practice, a meeting, an interview, whatever it is. I'm going to find a way to find a way to analyze it and find a better way to do it. That's my mindset. I've never been satisfied with anything. That's just my mindset. I'm always trying to find a better way to do things.

I like helping first-year head coaches.

I'm very grateful to Coach Saban.

Any time that you get big titles or head jobs at a young age, there's going to be that factor. 'He didn't pay his dues.'

I needed Nick Saban more than I needed Pete Carroll.

Al Davis fires everybody.

It's almost like when you don't have money, you think it's important. And once you have it, you're like, 'Was I really happy because I have more money going into the bank? No.'

At Tennessee, I said I can't wait to beat Florida in the Swamp and sing 'Rocky Top' all night long. The thing at Tennessee I felt was that there needed to be energy in the program immediately. Two of the last three years there, they were 5-7. Urban Meyer and Nick Saban were at all-time highs. I felt like the fan base and players needed confidence.