During a Monday press conference that swung wildly between the fervor of a revival meeting and a convenient fabrication of reality, Lane Kiffin recounted a truly telling anecdote that illuminated the sheer absurdity engulfing this whole messy affair.
Following his decision to depart Ole Miss for LSU, and after Mississippi administrators in Oxford decisively severed ties, Kiffin and his son, Knox, commenced their journey toward the airport, bound for Baton Rouge.
Not only were irate supporters waiting for him at the airport; Kiffin asserted that some pursued him along the highway. “I genuinely feared they were going to drive me off the road,” he admitted.
Kiffin grew so uneasy that he contacted an acquaintance—a local law enforcement officer—to ensure his safe arrival at the tarmac.
“That impacts you,” he stated. “That whole airport spectacle? Hearing everything they were saying about you, when you thought you’d performed admirably for six years.”
Scarcely a few hours later, Kiffin disembarked the aircraft in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, greeted by LSU’s uppermost management and fans who reacted as if they had just witnessed a divine ascension.
“And just like that, it vanished,” Kiffin remarked concerning his prior distress.
And seriously, let’s just pause and reflect on that entire sequence, keeping in mind the actual profession of Lane Kiffin.
He is neither the nefarious turncoat who has plundered the citizens of Oxford, nor is he the messiah that the state of Louisiana currently perceives traversing its bayous.
He is not Judas, nor is he Jesus. His profession is that of a football coach. That is the extent of it. His role is to persuade young men, aged 18 to 22, to pursue an elongated piece of pigskin on autumn Saturdays.
The crucial qualifier, naturally, is that Kiffin coaches within the SEC, where football reigns as a religion, enabling him to shed his villain’s mantle and don the hero’s in the span of a roughly 300-mile drive down I-55. One person’s casualty is another’s prize.
Kiffin voiced hopes that, eventually, past grievances would be forgotten and that “time would facilitate healing.”
LSU Athletic Director Verge Ausberry conceded that the road leading to the press conference had been turbulent, presenting distinct complications—chief among them that Ole Miss would naturally prefer to retain the coach who guided them to their inaugural playoff berth—but maintained that LSU acted in “what was best for Louisiana.”
In that, at least, there was truth.
However, experience has demonstrated that time, in reality, fails to mend all rifts.
Just query the Tennessee faithful, who similarly felt betrayed by Kiffin when he departed for USC after only fourteen months. Or recall the public statement given by Al Davis, who fired Kiffin as Raiders head coach, labeling him a “blatant liar” in the process.
There is no wrath more intense than that of a spurned football supporter.
But now that the matter is concluded—now that Kiffin sports a new shade of purple neckwear and Ole Miss has installed a fresh head coach—it is appropriate to sift through the remnants and ascertain the origins of this dramatic saga.
Kiffin certainly doesn’t occupy the position of the victim here. He solemnly explained his belief that he would be guiding the Rebels through the playoffs right up until half an hour before a scheduled team meeting, expressing profound regret that this became impossible. Nor is he the innocent novice he sought to portray himself as.
At one juncture, he stressed that he possessed no knowledge of his own earnings, claiming his sole focus involved the NIL remuneration available to his players.
So, perhaps he neglected to review the contractual fine print? The document which, it must be noted, reportedly includes the million-dollar incentive he stood to gain at Ole Miss for clinching a playoff spot, had those meddlesome figures not ousted him.
Ole Miss bears fault as well.
Their adamant declaration that they prioritized the program’s and players’ best interests is difficult to defend when they possessed the option to conclude the season with the coach who engineered the Rebels’ most successful campaign in over sixty years.
Yes, Kiffin might have been working covertly to lure players, but guess what? He was going to do that regardless, and at an absolute minimum, Ole Miss might have enjoyed a superior chance at a national title.
The genuine culprit, though, rests with the excessive nature of college football itself.
The unending demand to constantly fuel the machine has resulted in a lack of oversight. The actual mechanisms of the sport have been largely disregarded while those ostensibly tasked with upholding the game and higher education—commissioners, athletic directors, and university presidents—are preoccupied with monetary acquisition.
The transfer portal window unlocks on January 2nd. The initial signing period for high school recruits commences this week. The college football season doesn’t wrap up until January 20th. This scheduling malpractice compels coaches and athletes to finalize decisions regarding next year’s roster before the present team’s obligations are fulfilled.
A sign displaying Lane Kiffin’s name is visible at the South Stadium Club in Tiger Stadium prior to his news conference.
A sign displaying Lane Kiffin’s name is visible at the South Stadium Club in Tiger Stadium prior to his news conference. Matthew Hinton/Imagn Images/Reuters
Yet, shifting the portal window to the spring—not only after the season has concluded but also after the academic year (do we still remember that?) is over—has met with pushback. What would teams possibly do without their personnel available for winter workouts and spring practice?
Instead, December has devolved into football’s version of the frenzied holiday shopping spree, where unregulated agents market their players to ascertain which program might want them once the portal (a knowing wink) opens.
Furthermore, the NFL enforces stringent anti-tampering regulations complete with punitive measures to prevent precisely the scenario that unfolded here—one organization poaching a coach from another during active competition.
And college athletics? What? Pardon me. I couldn’t hear over the clamor regarding playoff field expansion designed solely to boost profit margins.
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There remains, naturally, the concept of fundamental respect and basic courtesy. Perhaps even, dare one whisper it, collegiality? Stop your laughing. Such things once existed.
Back in 1957, Bear Bryant had steered Texas A&M to an 8-3 record and a chance at national recognition when Alabama lured him away. The former Bama player cited the famed “Mama called” axiom regarding his alma mater. Nevertheless, Bryant honored his commitment and coached the Aggies in the Gator Bowl.
Subsequently, as chronicled by the Houston Post, a player approached Bryant and remarked, “Coach, I simply want to express my gratitude for allowing me to play under you these past two years. I just wanted to say farewell and, well, best wishes, down at Alabama.”
It is unlikely the inhabitants of Oxford were offering Kiffin similar sentiments.
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