Tua Tagovailoa was "no doubt" going to leave Alabama if he didn't play in Monday's College Football Playoff Championship, according to Lane Kiffin.

The former Alabama offensive coordinator made the stunning revelation Tuesday during an interview on The Dan Patrick Show.

MORE: Tua Tagovailoa leads Alabama past UGA in OT thriller

Kiffin said the true freshman wasn't happy playing behind starting quarterback Jalen Hurts.

"Tua was leaving," said Kiffin to Patrick. "Tua thought that he should be the starting quarterback and had outperformed [Hurts] in practice and coach [Nick Saban] never gave him an opportunity."

Saban decided at halftime of Monday's title game to replace Hurts with Tagovailoa.

MORE: What's next for Alabama's Jalen Hurts?

The decision paid off, to say the least, as Tagovailoa led Alabama to its sixth national championship under the 66-year-old coach.

“How this second half played out changes college football, because Tua is going to be one of the best quarterbacks in college football,” said Kiffin.

With Tagovailoa's success, the Flordia Atlantic coach said he isn't sure if Hurts will end up transfering from Alabama, but added that many players in his position would.

"It's a decision he'll have to make pretty quick," said Kiffin.