I’m in the big, big minority that thinks Kiffin has been put in a really tough spot and Ole Miss is more responsible than he is for how big of a mess this has been. I’d actually rank order of “fault” as: 1) NCAA, 2) media coverage, 3) Ole Miss, 4) Kiffin. I’ve read multiple articles from The Athletic about how he abandoned his team. He’s selfish. He’s ruined the sport forever. And it’s such an overreaction. And such misdirected criticism. I know Kiffin’s past stinks. He made a lot of mistakes when he was a young, immature coach. And I get people don’t like him because of that. And even today, he is a big personality. But over the last several years he has, imo, done a good job rebuilding his reputation. And while doing so, he’s climbed a fairly traditional coaching ladder. Assistant at Bama -> FAU -> Ole Miss -> LSU. If you remove the name, this coaching ladder doesn’t get a ton of criticism. I think this whole thing turned into a mess the second Ole Miss gave an ultimatum or deadline or whatever it was. I don’t see why this was a necessary thing to do. Like, they instantly named their current DC as the new permanent HC. So they clearly had him in mind as a successor. They wouldn’t lose time in the any kind of coaching search. And since he’s already on staff, he’s already recruiting and can continue to do so. It really seems like Kiffin and LSU were both willing to wait it out. We are seeing two other coaches leave their teams for bigger jobs and also being allowed to finish out the season and potentially coach in the playoffs. Ole Miss should absolutely do the same imo. This is their best season ever (as long as we aren’t counting events in the 1950s). While it’s possible what Lane built sustains over time, chances are, it could be a long, long time before they’re back in this position. I would rather give my team the best chance to win vs the mess the team currently finds themselves in. “Kiffin wants his cake and to eat it too”. Ok. Ole Miss wants the same. They want Kiffin gone now. He has another job. He doesn’t work for us anymore. Ok. Then don’t get mad when he actually starts his other job and recruits some of his staff and players to go with him. Just like every other coach does when they leave for a new job. College football is a mess. And things like this happen as a result. But the couple articles I read today, both from The Athletic, were so biased from the start against Kiffin. I’ve yet to hear anyone say how he should’ve handled this. He was offered a bigger and better job and he took it. The variables around him made it impossible for him to leave without hurting feelings. And those hurt feelings showed their face and made the situation worse.
It just shows how much of a clown show rhe Lane Kiffin saga has been since the beginning. To me its shocking these programs are falling over themselves to hire this guy, especially since hes barely won anything. You say hes changed since he was young and immature but...well now we have this ole miss fiasco. So the beginning snd present day lane both have sucked. Plus you said Ole miss wants "cake and eat it" and wants him gone and that's not true. Ole miss DIDNT want or expect kiffin to leave, especially like this. I think the difference between north texas, jmu and ole miss are also obvious. Ole miss needs to/wants to protect its brand as NOT a stepping stone job....especially if the coach wants to go to a literal rival. Jmu and north texas understand who they are. I don't fully blame just Lane Kiffin....but saying hes the least to blame doesn't jive with me. The fact that he was also not willing to meet with players and told his coordinators to leave with him now or never. Ugly. Hes allowed to leave for more money....but he expected their to be no reprocussions which is nonsense.
The college football calendar is also the very obvious culprit here. The way the system is in place with recruiting calenders, transfer portals Academic calenders, AND NOW AN EXPANDED PLAYOFF.... this crap will continue to happen every year. And they want to add more rounds and more teams? This doesn't happen in other sports because coaches and teams can wait until the season is actually over. (Or colleges that change coaches should expect to be behind the eight ball in recruiting when they hire someone new)
Ole Miss needs to protect its brand….what is their brand? Before Kiffin they were a stepping stone job. A middling P4 program. One that never accomplishes anything of note. He has absolutely maxed out the potential that program has. And now he is leaving for a better, higher profile job. And regarding the comparison to JMU and Tulane…I’d argue pretty heavily that those schools have a better chance at returning to the CFB playoffs than Ole Miss because of how the current playoff system is structured. This legit might be Ole Miss’ best chance at winning something. And saying Ole Miss didn’t expect him to leave…I do not buy that at all. And if they did believe that, that’s on them. Because it was pretty obvious to everyone else he would consider a job if it was an elite program. And again, majority of coaches would do the same. Ole Miss pretending to be blindsided by this is booty. “Not willing to meet with players” and the whole ultimatum he gave coaches…I’ve seen mixed reports on that. It’s hard to know what to believe. Initially those reports claimed he made the ultimatum and no one went with him. Then it was “only one coach went with him”. Now we’ve learned that several people are leaving with him. So it’s hard for me to believe the reporting around that specifically. Especially when most articles literally start with just bashing Kiffin. They could have let him finish it out, and then agree to a deal with LSU. Everyone would’ve walked away happy. Ole Miss would still have the same replacement HC they have now. There wouldn’t be this drama. But instead, they backed him into a corner and forced him to make a decision. It was not necessary.
"Ole Miss needs to protect its brand….what is their brand?" Wishing it was the 1950s again for multiple reasons
Both things are true. Lane is being lane and being an immature weirdo about this that seems to thing he is delusionally owed a shot at the playoff i also think the school is misplaying this and treating him like just a cog in the machine and he is not. He is the most successful coach they’ve had in over 50 years. They should probably defer to him a bit since this is their only chance to win anything
Thank you. I know this is exactly what I said. I just want someone else to acknowledge Ole Miss also handled this poorly lol
That being said I also just kinda think it’s the sport now. If deboer left Alabama for Penn state and both were in the playoff I don’t think it would have been any different
The brand being "we arent a stepping stone job, we are paying you 9million a year, your team can legit win a championship right now...and you went ahead and talked to other schools and now wanna keave while you were under contract.... fuck that" Ole miss didn't have to do that but I dont blame them.
And again... if they changed early signing and the recruiting calendar and didnt desperately need to hire coaches before Dec 1. Thus is all avoided
Heupel said today at a local press conference when asked about Penn State: “Why would I want to go to a place with low expectations?” lmao
I first saw it on some fan site and was like “that’s fake” and then I saw it on On3 and was like “ok king, fix that defense”