New Florida head coach Jon Sumrall’s comments about LSU’s Lane Kiffin were unfair
Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall decided to throw some shade at LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin on Wednesday.
New Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall made quite an impression at SEC Media Days in Tampa on Wednesday.
Sumrall showed a lot of energy — something previous Florida head coach Billy Napier lacked — and he made sure to deliver plenty of soundbites for the media.
One of those soundbites involved LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin.
And I thought it was a bit unfair.
Sumrall, who called Kiffin a friend, said that he couldn’t have left Tulane for Florida if he had not been allowed to coach Tulane in the College Football Playoff.
Kiffin, of course, wasn’t allowed to coach Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff after taking the LSU job.
“Lane and I talked as we were going through it,” said Sumrall. “He was like, ‘You and I are going through the same thing in November.’ I was like, ‘No, Lane, we’re not. If you leave, you’re leaving an SEC school to go to another SEC school. It’s a little different. I’m leaving Tulane.’
“But it was challenging to do it. I wouldn’t have done it any other way. … I wanted to make sure I left Tulane the right way. If any university told me I couldn’t coach in the playoff game, I don’t think I would’ve taken the job just because I couldn’t leave the team I had coached all year.”
Sumrall also added that he didn’t envy the spot Kiffin was in.
Everyone has opinions on Kiffin’s decision to leave Ole Miss in the middle of a playoff run for LSU. But the only person who was actually in that situation was Kiffin. It’s one thing for writers, fans, and talking heads to opine on Kiffin’s decision, it’s another thing for a sitting SEC head coach to do it.
It’s easy for Sumrall to sit up there and say he wouldn’t have done what Kiffin did in order to make himself look good at SEC Media Days. But Sumrall doesn’t know what he would’ve done in Kiffin’s situation — no one can know until they’re actually in that situation. I mean, Kiffin, regardless of what you think of his decision (and I’ve been critical of it, to be fair), clearly struggled with it. He was on edge at the end of his Ole Miss tenure as he was wrestling with what to do.
After seeing the anguish that Kiffin went through over the decision, I just don’t think it’s fair for Sumrall, who didn’t have to go through that same anguish, to get on his high horse on stage and say that he couldn’t have done what Kiffin did.
It’s talking season, so I know everyone is trying to make their mark — especially new coaches — but I thought Sumrall’s comments about Kiffin were just a bit unfair.