Lane Kiffin’s now-infamous decision to become the HC at LSU right after making the College Football Playoff with Ole Miss has been the biggest storyline in college football this season.
The Rebels didn’t allow Kiffin to stay with the program through the CFP, and as a result, he threatened his would-be assistants to push them to follow him to Baton Rouge right away. As a result, only two LSU coaches will be with the Rebels in Thursday night’s semifinal matchup with Miami: offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and running backs coach Kevin Smith.
That’s why former Florida State and Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher didn’t mince his words about Kiffin’s decisions and demeanor.
Jimbo Fisher puts “selfish” Lane Kiffin on blast
“It’s selfish,” Fisher said in an appearance on ACC Network. “That’s what it is. It’s stupid. And because here’s why I say that. He wanted to coach [Ole Miss] and thought he didn’t get his way. ‘Everybody get on the plane with me, or you don’t have a job.’ All right? And he makes them all go. Then he gets down there and takes a P.R. hit, because it looks bad that you really don’t care about the kids. Then he says, ‘Okay, you can go back.”’
Fisher believes that Kiffin miscalculated his move. He didn’t seem to think the Rebels would stand a chance against Georgia, and the situation has now backfired tremendously.
“But here’s where he screwed up. He thought they were gonna lose to Georgia. The portal thing was all over with, and it was going to be all over with. He said, ‘I’ll look like a hero.’ Now, he’s got egg on his face because the real Lane came back out,” Fisher added. “And as a coach, it’s hurting the kids and it p— me off.”
At the end of the day, Kiffin made his decision and had to feel comfortable about it, but this clearly wasn’t a good look for him or the assistant coaches who followed him blindly to Baton Rouge.
Then again, this avoidable situation is just another byproduct of the college football system and schedule. That’s not going to stop happening for as long as other programs can poach head coaches away while the season is still ongoing.
