Nick Saban Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

On Wednesday evening, legendary Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban surprisingly announced his retirement from college football after 17 seasons with the team during which he led the team to six national championships. And Lane Kiffin was quick to offer his congratulations following the announcement while also acknowledging the retirement of Pete Carroll.

In a message posted on social media, Lane Kiffin had a pretty clear message for both coaches whom he served under as assistants, calling them “the two GOATS,” using a goat emoji.

“The two GOATS. So honored and blessed to have learned from them and won national championships with both. Thanks for taking a chance on me and being amazing mentor’s to me. Appreciate you both more than you will ever know. 💙♥️. @AlabamaFTBL @Seahawks Greatness we may never see again. Appreciate it fans,” Kiffin said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Kiffin coached under both Saban and Carroll during his time as an assistant in college football, serving under Carroll at USC from 2002 until 2006 and under Saban from 2014 to 2016.

Now the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels, there is a chance Kiffin could be a candidate to replace Saban at Alabama.

We’ll have to see what happens.

[Lane Kiffin]