Will Kiffin be 1st?

Could the 24th time be the charm?

We’re talking about whether one of Alabama Coach Nick Saban’s former assistant coaches ever will beat him.

Saban is 23-0 against the men he used to employ. He’ll try to make it 25-0 over The No. 1 Crimson Tide’s next two games against No. 12 Ole Miss and at No. 15 Texas A&M.

Rebels Coach Lane Kiffin was Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama in 2014-16 and Aggies Coach Jimbo Fisher was his offensive coordinator at LSU from 2000-04.

“I certainly hope that, like I’m sure Jimbo does,” Kiffin, whose Rebels play at Alabama on Saturday, said of being the first of Saban’s assistants to beat him. “Is it only 23 [losses]? I thought it was 26.”

No, it’s 23, but it could get to 26 by the end of the season if Alabama beats Ole Miss and Texas A&M, then beats Georgia — coached by Kirby Smart — in the SEC Championship Game.

“He’s undefeated versus almost everybody,” Kiffin said in reference to Saban’s 280-82-1 record as a college coach. “There’s a reason he’s the best in the history of college football.

“Even when people know how his place works, he’s still undefeated, which is amazing.”

Last year Kiffin revealed that some of Saban’s former assistants had a text thread going, but he said that it has “ended down a little bit” with Will Muschamp being fired at South Carolina and Jeremy Pruitt fired at Tennessee.

Kiffin said Fisher wasn’t a part of the text thread.

“Jimbo didn’t make our cut,” Kiffin said. “It was a long time ago [Fisher coached with Saban].

“Every once and while there’s something on there, but not as much anymore.”

Kiffin is 0-1 against Saban as a former assistant, Fisher is 0-4 and Smart is 0-3 among active SEC coaches who have faced him.

Alabama’s 12-10 victory over Tennessee in 2007 when Kiffin was the Vols’ coach doesn’t count against him because he hadn’t yet coached with Saban.

The Rebels threw a scare into the Tide last year before Alabama held on to win 63-48.