No Use Crying Over Lane Kiffin
- Sheehan Planas-Arteaga
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Lane Kiffin will do as Lane Kiffin has always done. It'll be okay.
The Lane Kiffin sweepstakes mercifully came to an end last weekend, with the former Ole Miss Rebels head coach announcing that he was taking the job with the LSU Tigers. Many were up in arms over his decision to run towards the latest shiny object dangled in front of him, specifically Ole Miss and Florida fans.
I am a Florida fan, and I say there’s no use crying over Lane Kiffin.
What LSU is Getting
Lane Kiffin is 116-53 at the collegiate level across stops at Tennessee (7-6), USC (28-15), FAU (26-13), and most recently, Ole Miss (55-19). He had a disastrous stint in the NFL before his career as a college coach began, going 5-15 across one-and-a-quarter seasons with the Oakland Raiders. Owner Al Davis called him a “flat-out liar” who brought “disgrace to the organization.”
Lane has proven he can recruit and run a program effectively at the collegiate level, but it’s fair to wonder how much more he needs to finally get over a hump. Notice how I didn’t say THE hump. That would be winning a National Championship. No, I’m saying A hump, as in, a championship of any kind. He never won the PAC-12 in his four seasons at USC. He most certainly did not win the SEC in his lone season at Tennessee, whose students rioted and caused several fires on campus after his brief and inauspicious tenure. He never won it in six seasons at Ole Miss either.
Arguably his biggest achievements across 16 years of being a head coach at the pro and college ranks are the two C-USA titles he won in 2017 and 2019 with FAU. He was also part of three championship runs as an assistant at USC (‘03 and ‘04) and Alabama (‘15). That’s nice, but it’s hardly an appropriate cake topper for someone who teams fall over each other trying to sign. He won a couple decent bowl games at Ole Miss, although, in the age of NIL and players sitting out bowl in order to preserve their own brands, those are a crapshoot if you’re not playing for a shot at a title.
Essentially, LSU is getting a guy who knows how to recruit, coach ball, and will ruffle the feathers of the school’s rivals through brash commentary. However, he has surprisingly little to show for his efforts, despite his high demand.
His Next Chapter
If history is any indicator, I know what I’m in for as someone who roots for a team in the same conference as LSU. The Tigers will be good and they will be loud, as is their new leader. They will surely be good enough to make the 12-team playoff, probably as soon as next season. Will they win it all? Will they even play for it all? Likely not. Lane seems to have established where his ceiling is, and barring a one-year aberration where everything breaks right, the Tigers won’t be hoisting many trophies.
Then the chatter will start. Jobs will open up. There aren’t many jobs better than LSU, but they are out there. I’d say the Alabama job is one. Will they hit their last straw with Kalen DeBoer? I think the Texas job is another. Steve Sarkisian’s seat will start getting a little warm over there if the Longhorns miss out on the playoffs this season (very likely) and perform similarly next season. Then there’s the allure of the NFL, where Lane’s failure was so complete and so expeditious that it must gnaw at him, being the competitor he is. All three of these options may present themselves to him within the next few seasons.
We know Lane Kiffin doesn’t really care for the timing of his departure, as shown by him leaving Ole Miss in the middle of his best chance at winning a National Championship. If you show him how green your grass is compared to his, he’ll be knocking on your front door by tomorrow. And when he does, he’ll leave some form of chaos in his wake. This, up to now, is the Lane Kiffin way.
So no, I’m not all that bummed Lane chose LSU over Florida. I’ll suck it up for the three or four years he’s in Baton Rouge. Jon Sumrall seems like a good hire and we’ll see if he’s able to pull off an upset or two as Tulane gets ready for the playoffs. Keep your chins up, Rebels and Gators. There’s no use crying over Lane Kiffin.
