SportsSpotlight Stories

LSU can’t possibly feel good about hiring a deserter

December 1, 2025
0

Lane Kiffin knew the stakes before he made his decision to leave Ole Miss for LSU: take the Tigers job and you won’t be able to coach the team you’re leaving in the College Football Playoff.

Call it unfair — that the reward for a 55-19 record in Oxford and four double-digit win seasons in six years was an ultimatum that guaranteed to turn Kiffin back heel for taking a promotion — but that was the situation, and Kiffin made the bed he’ll now sleep in. He chose to abandon an 11-1 playoff team for the greener grass of a conference rival. Congratulations on the gig. Enjoy the scrutiny that comes with it.

University of Mississippi faithful obviously aren’t happy about it. It’s a spit in the face. Kiffin, in essence, told them they weren’t good enough. That his future chances of winning a championship at LSU were greater than his present chances of a winning a championship with a team just four wins away — and he may even be right about that. But it’s hard to imagine a few people in Baton Rouge don’t feel a little icky about it too.

OK. So maybe LSU is too busy reveling in the chaos right now. Tigers linebacker Whit Weeks, the boyfriend of Kiffin’s daughter Landry, seems thrilled about the move. As do a couple five-star recruits who affirmed their commitments to LSU. But even those happy about the hire have to view this relationship as transactional. After all, it would be unwise to take serious a relationship with someone who left their previous spouse to be with you — then immediately began trolling their ex.

Sure, LSU landed someone who’s demonstrated himself to be a good enough coach — and potentially set back a conference foe in the process. But the way it went down robs the potential for this union to provide enjoyment in any season that falls short of a championship. Everyone will remember Kiffin as the man who abandoned his team before the CFP … his new team included. That type of stench follows you everywhere you go. You don’t erase it without a title.

If the Brian Kelly experience was a drag, just wait until Kiffin tries to tweet his way through falling short of whatever lofty expectations follow him to the Bayou. Speaking of, this is a lot of fuss for a coach who’s never actually come close to winning anything… aside from the time he abandoned his team before the playoff started. Remember that?

Of course you do. It’ll be hard to forget. Not only for the people he’s leaving behind, but for the people currently welcoming him with opened arms, expecting a delivery on their belief that Kiffin is capable of leading them back to glory. Don’t let them down, Lane. Otherwise, I get the feeling you’ll learn what they really think about you.

Lane Kiffin doesn’t know how to say goodbye

Ole Miss isn’t the first place Lane Kiffin has left in shambles. This is kinda his thing. Christian D’Andrea wrote about Kiffin’s previous exits and how this latest one follows a similar pattern:

“Kiffin is a well-regarded innovator and, most importantly to this exercise, head coach who wins games. He also loves a mess, almost always of his own design. The story of him leaving Tennessee for Southern California back in 2009 is titled “‘All Hell Broke Loose’.” His tenure with the Trojans created the “left on the tarmac” meme applied to most underperforming coaches returning home from a brutal road loss.

We’ve only touched on the first two jobs and five years of his career as a college head coach. We’re already two oral histories deep.

Thus, it shouldn’t be a surprise the man who engineered four double-digit win seasons in his last five tries at Mississippi held college football hostage with his latest career decision. Kiffin saw his opportunity to wrench at the spotlight in the final week of the regular season. A glut of head coach openings across Power 4 conference programs and a shrinking pool of qualified candidates meant 2025’s coaching search effectively turned into his Bar Mitzvah — his ascension to elite coach (despite zero national or conference titles at a Power 4 school) and the sun at the center of coaching’s solar system.”

Here’s more from Christian on the Kiffin debacle.

Quick hits:

This was For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: LSU can’t possibly feel good about hiring a deserter

Technology

Recent Posts

editors picks

Top Reviews

X-twitter

© 2024 United Cultures.