Former Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin told ESPN that he will watch Monday night's national title game from Boca Raton -- where his new school, Florida Atlantic, is located -- and he predicts an Alabama victory.
Kiffin, who was named coach at Florida Atlantic on Dec. 12, was supposed to remain with Alabama through the College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T. But coach Nick Saban announced Monday that Kiffin would be replaced by Steve Sarkisian as offensive coordinator.
Kiffin is confident Sarkisian will be successful against Clemson in his first game as Alabama's coordinator.
"He will do awesome," Kiffin said. "He's one of the best game-day callers in all of football. It has been a seamless transition."
Kiffin would not reveal how often he has spoken to Sarkisian in the past week. "We said we weren't talking to the media about (our) interactions," Kiffin said.
Kiffin was in Tampa on Saturday but returned to Boca Raton on Sunday. ESPN asked Kiffin to participate in its "Coaches Film Room" show from Bristol, Connecticut, on Monday night on ESPNEWS as part of the network's championship game coverage, but Kiffin declined.