At some point, Lane Kiffin was going to respond to the articles and haters doubting his ability to succeed at FAU.

On Tuesday, three days before Kiffin and the Owls open the regular season against Navy, he finally erupted.

Kiffin was asked if he was "bugged" by a Bleacher Report article published Monday where reporter Matt Hayes quotes various ex-Kiffin staffers and colleagues — ` nearly all of whom remained anonymous.

"I don’t think it really bugs me (but) it really bugs me when people write an article that puts no names in it," Kiffin said. "Everything negative in the article is just referring to an unidentified source — that part really bugs me. It is what it is."

One former colleague of Kiffin is quoted as saying, "He’s completely unaware of his impact on others. When you’re a coach, everything you say and do is not only scrutinized by the media and your boosters, but modeled by your players. Eventually, that will eat away at what you’re trying to build until there is nothing left."

Also quoted in the article is Alabama coach Nick Saban, Kiffin’s boss with the Crimson Tide from 2014-16. Kiffin has publicly joked about "ass-chewings" received from Saban when he was Alabama’s offensive coordinator.

"Lane is a very smart coach. He knows the game," Saban said. "But, what Lane will figure out, what every coach eventually figures out, is it’s about people."

On January 9, a week before the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, it was announced Kiffin was leaving the Crimson Tide. Hayes writes that Saban "finally had enough" of Kiffin in part because Kiffin, who was hired in December by FAU, was spending practices on the phone, trying to assemble his new staff.

After quoting Nick Saban, Hayes writes, "It is here where we introduce the very crux of the Failure of Kiffin: He doesn’t work well with others. At least, others in the coaching profession vital to his existence."

Saban was joined by former Oakland Raider CEO Amy Trask and former Alabama quarterbacks Blake Sims and Jake Coker as those who put their names to their quotes.

"You guys get to write what you want and never be held accountable for it," Kiffin told assembled reporters, many of whom came from FAU’s student media. "I’ve told you before: you guys got great jobs."

By the time the next question was asked, Kiffin was already halfway out the door.

QB battle: De’Andre Johnson practiced for the second straight day after a nagging undisclosed injury … Kiffin did not name a starter for the opener, but did say the battle between Johnson, Jason Driskel, and Daniel Parr (Dwyer) remains a three-man race.