Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin, Georgia's Kirby Smart square off for first time - ESPN

As he sat beside Kirby Smart in the many staff meetings led by Nick Saban at Alabama in 2015, Lane Kiffin never really thought about all the coaching talent in the room.

«No, not really. I just knew that you better be on top of your game every day or you were going to hear about it from Coach [Saban],» Kiffin said. «We all did. Nobody was spared. Didn't matter if you were a coordinator or a [graduate assistant].»

The Crimson Tide won the national championship that season, and 13 staff members — including analysts, personnel/player development directors and graduate assistants — went on to be Power 5 head coaches or coordinators. Three others would become NFL assistants, while another position coach, Bobby Williams, had previously been head coach at Michigan State.

Saban told ESPN last year that it was as complete, and yet as diverse, a staff as he's had in terms of coaches with different backgrounds, ages and mindsets.

«But that's what you want, guys who are driven and have what it takes to be a head coach, but also guys who are able to coach and challenge each other in that moment,» Saban said. «We had a lot of those guys on that staff.»

On Saturday, two of the centerpieces of that legendary staff will meet for the first time as head coaches when Smart's No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs take on Kiffin's No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels at Sanford Stadium (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). It's the first top-10 matchup this season in the SEC and the first top-10 matchup between the Bulldogs and Rebels.

Smart and Kiffin aren't exactly phone pals (or text pals), but Smart said this week he has a lot of respect for his Ole Miss counterpart.

«He was a head coach at a really young age,» Smart said. «He taught me a lot of things about what he believes in being a