A little perspective on the Alabama staff here. Nick does not allow ANY of his staff to talk to the press (as a rule) and that ONE VOICE rule has merit. Deep down, a bit of the reasoning behind that one voice rule is it makes his voice more meaningful. And that is the way Nick wants it. He is the boss and he can have it his way!
Consider the press that has fallen on Lane Kiffin without Lane speaking a word, and you might get feelings of consternation from Nick.
He does not like that constant press exposure about his staff member because it is against his strict policy. For that reason alone, it was time to go for Lane.
And there might be other reasons we don't know about.
Anyway, it was time for Lane to go.