Lane Kiffin was a guest on The Paul Finebaum Show Monday afternoon, hours after Alabama's announcement that Kiffin won't be the team's offensive coordinator for the national championship game next Monday.

Below is a rundown of what he said:

On what happened:

"Coach (Saban) and I spent some time together last night as we were at the office game-planning after we got back from Atlanta and then again this morning, and just kind of bouncing some things around and just reflecting on the preparation for the game and trying to do both jobs. I think I thought it would be easier than it was.

"I re-watched the game a couple times last night, and I was kind of thinking, 'I don't feel like we played great.' Now, those games happen. We still did some good things and ran the ball really well. Didn't turn the ball over. So it wasn't even anything about the (result). It was just, I was wondering was I always there because you are bouncing between the two jobs. You're interviewing guys at night, calling recruits at night. I was just talking with Coach. That game, we had a month to prepare for doing both things. Now we have a little over a week for this game. Coach and I were kind of just bouncing it around, and just felt that really, I don't know that for the players, that you can do 100 percent (juggling both jobs). You try. But then your mind's thinking 'OK, well I've got to interview this guy later' or 'Here's a list of recruits you've got to watch at night' vs. watching extra film for the opponent and stuff.

"I just want to win this game. I want to win this game for the players, for the fans. It's been an unbelievable run -- whatever we were on, 25 or 26 straight we've been able to win. We've got to do one more. So, as we discussed it, just felt like Sark and I are so similar, we kind of speak the same language, call games the same way, that he would probably give us the best chance to win because 100 percent of his mind all day long is on the game. I'm still going to help in any way that I can. Watched some film last night and this morning of these guys. That's a very good team obviously, and talked some ideas (with) Sark. Want to go win this game. But it's best for the players at this time for Sark to call the game and to lead all the meetings all week long because I want these guys to win, and they deserve to have the best."

On whether he was fired:

"There's no way on that. We've had an unbelievable run. He would be the first one to tell you: We've got a true freshman quarterback. And I don't think anybody would have signed up at the beginning of the year and said we'd get to the national championship game and be 14-0 -- one of the only teams in the history of football to be 14-0 -- and the quarterback to be the SEC Offensive Player of the year, so it's been an awesome year. We've had a great time, and this simply came down to that Sark may give us the best chance to win this game and prepare the entire week in a short bowl week compared to a normal bowl game. I'll do everything I can to assist that."

On this being a bad look for him:

"I can't worry about that. This is something that 10 years ago I don't think I would have come up with. I would have been like, 'Just win the game. Win another championship.' But I had to think about the best thing for the players. The stuff out there too was last year was the last year, there was no way there was going to be a third year and it was over and coach Saban and I don't get along, there's no way it was going to work. Obviously that wasn't true. Came back for the third year and we've had a great year. We've got one more to finish it."

On an ESPN report that Kiffin being late to meetings, missing a bus at Alabama's Media Day and making comments about Saban's "ass chewings" during press conferences last week contributed to him being forced to leave:

"That's not true. The missing the bus thing was we're sitting there at Media Day, and I was doing every interview that I was supposed to do, and walked straight from there out and the bus had already left. They had other cars there for us too, so it wasn't really a big deal. They had other cars for bowl event people there, shuttling people back and forth, so that got kind of blown up. There was no distractions or anything like that.

"If you look at the game, I think people forget -- and I said it all week leading up -- that's a really good defense. And I know especially down here sometimes there's not a lot of respect for that part of the country playing football. But those guys have given people problems all year long and don't give up a lot of explosive plays, and the game plan was -- with a true freshman quarterback, especially with our defense playing the way they were -- was to hand the ball off and not throw the ball a lot. That's why we did that. We were extremely heavy running the ball. The plan going in was that Bo (Scarbrough) would carry the ball and touch the ball more than anybody else on our team because we felt like he had a great month of preparation and would do a really good job and don't turn the ball over. (Turning the ball over) was the only way we were going to lose that game, so that's why we were very conservative. We're not about what the score is or how many yards we have. It was to win the game and to get to the next game and, even later in the game, was not even to not run the quarterback because the game was going our direction and not wanting him to get hurt."

On his tenure at Alabama:

"Awesome. It's really been an awesome run. Three SEC championships hasn't been done in so long. To be part of that with three different quarterbacks and the great coaches and to learn from coach Saban and to see how he manages the game and the preparation, it's been great. When we signed the paper three years ago to come here, that initial contract, I don't know that anybody could have imagined it would go this good with three SEC championships and three SEC Offensive Players of the Year and now got one game left to win back-to-back national championships."