The world of college football is rarely dull. Even with the regular season a few months away from starting, this week has been full of drama.
And most of the most recent drama has been created by LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin, who’s no stranger to making headlines, made several comments that garnered attention in new interviews. The most contentious and controversial being some very pointed criticisms of Ole Miss, his former school.
Specifically Kiffin claimed Ole Miss would lose out on recruits because of supposed concerns over racial diversity on campus and in Oxford.
“‘Hey, coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi.’ That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” Kiffin said to Vanity Fair. “Parents were sitting here this weekend saying the campus’s diversity feels so great: ‘It feels like there’s no segregation. And we want that for our kid because that’s the real world.'”
LANE KIFFIN TAKES SHOT AT OLE MISS, CITES RACISM IN RECRUITING GAP WITH LSU IN AWKWARD INTERVIEW
Reactions on social media were immediate and generally dismissive of Kiffin’s claims. And you can add one of the SEC’s biggest supporters to the list of those roasting him for bringing race into the Ole Miss discussion. Even at a new school.
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, during a new episode of his “The Paul Finebaum Show,” went after Kiffin and had some thoughts on what motivated him to say what he did.
“An SEC coach at LSU is breaking big news in Vanity Fair,” Finebaum said. “Has to be shaking up Fifth Avenue right now. But it’s Lane Kiffin.
“The most important thing to factor in here, this wasn’t a slip of the tongue. I talked to the writer who did the Vanity Fair piece the other day, Curt [sic] Smith, he said he didn’t even ask Kiffin about the racism aspect, he just started rifting [sic]. This is Kiffin trying to wipe Ole Miss off the face of the Earth, he’s still very bitter at them, even though they’re the jilted lover. He’s bitter at them because they wouldn’t let him coach in the playoffs.
“And he has to recruit against them, he has to coach against them on September 19th, a game that will get a little bit of attention.”
Finebaum then took a minute to address Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian’s comments, which implied that Ole Miss has an advantage because it’s not a good academic school. “The Sarkisian thing is even more amazing. The fact that any coach is whining and complaining about anything … Steve Sarkisian makes about $12 million a year, and not one person on his roster is going to the University of Texas for their curriculum. They’re going for the money.”
Paul Finebaum, not holding back. And he’s right.
Lane Kiffin is bitter, upset, whatever the adjective, that Ole Miss didn’t let him coach in the playoff after taking the LSU job. But he knew that was going to be the outcome if he decided to leave, and he left anyway. Kiffin then essentially proved Finebaum right in another interview with Wilson Alexander from On3.com.
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“Obviously, I wish the timing was different. There was no way around it,” he said. “Tried to do everything possible to still coach and, obviously, that was [athletic director Keith Carter’s] decision and understandable. Do I still wish that had happened? Yeah, I do. I wish that would have been allowed to happen. Maybe we would have won it all.”
That’s why he’s so upset. He believed Ole Miss had a chance to win a national championship. And he would have that on his résumé, winning a title, especially at a program like Ole Miss. But he has no one to blame but himself for missing out on that opportunity. Even if the LSU job is a better one in the long run.
And he’s right on Sarkisian too. Sark knows the Texas football team isn’t there for academics, or at least, the starters. If any coach is going to complain about putting together a roster, it shouldn’t be the head of arguably the richest program in the country. With a massive NIL budget, classic uniforms, a legendary stadium and history, and a gigantic, devoted fan base.
Credit where credit’s due, Finebaum didn’t pull any punches. Even though the target was based in his beloved SEC.
