5 reasons Lane Kiffin is now biggest villain in college football history as he leaves Ole Miss Rebels for LSU Tigers
Lane Kiffin’s indefensible, incomprehensible behavior as he abandons Ole Miss makes him an easy villain to root against
There have been many coaches who have left their teams at inopportune times in the past, but Lane Kiffin’s departure from the Ole Miss Rebels might just be the most embarrassing mess in the history of college football. Thus, the headline — Kiffin is now officially the biggest villain in college football history.
Kiffin has done some great things with and for the Ole Miss football program, but the facts are facts. Ole Miss is 11-1. It’s headed to the College Football Playoff. It will host a playoff game. The Rebels are amid their best season ever, firmly in the mix to win a national championship right now. Still, Kiffin is leaving Ole Miss for a job that, if everything goes perfectly, might one day allow him to have a chance to do what he’s already doing right now.
It’s ridiculously selfish, absurdly villainous behavior that screams, “I don’t care about anyone else but myself, my legacy, me, myself, and I.”
However, it’s more complex than just the decision by itself. There are layers to just how ridiculous a villain this move makes Kiffin. It would be nearly impossible to list all the reasons why Kiffin is now officially the biggest villain in college football history, but we’ll just keep it to five for today.
1. Lane Kiffin is the first head coach to leave his team while competing for a national championship
It’s funny that Kiffin is the man coming in to replace Brian Kelly at LSU. Kelly was the most recent head coach to leave his college football program at an absolutely wild time, joining LSU in hopes of having a better shot at a national title. Kelly left an 11-1 Notre Dame team that everyone knew would miss out on the College Football Playoff, and that was already bad enough considering how amazing the program was and still is now.
Kiffin leaving Ole Miss isn’t quite as insane a decision given the perceived status gap between the programs (even though the gap between LSU and Ole Miss has shrunk significantly), but the timing is still absolutely absurd.
Kiffin is leaving a program to go “compete for a national championship” at LSU when he’s already in the middle of doing just that at Ole Miss. It’s wild that this is actually happening. Abandoning players. Abandoning staff (except for the ones he stole from Ole Miss). Throwing six years of hard work and relationships in the trash.
2. Kiffin’s lies and empty words prove he hasn’t changed at all
There are too many quotes and so much garbage to sift through when it comes to all the lies and empty words that have come out of Kiffin’s mouth in his time with Ole Miss. He’s continually said things like “he’s never been happier” or “he’s changed and learned so much from his past transitions and decisions.”
All of it was garbage, meaningless. He talks a big game and has tried his best to rehab his public perception since bailing publicly on Tennessee, getting fired on the tarmac after his flight back to USC, and generally ticking people off at every stop throughout his entire career.
Apparently, he’s learned absolutely nothing and still cares about no one but himself, despite anything he says publicly. As always, it’s all about the content, the brand, and building toward whatever is best for Kiffin and only Kiffin.
3. Kiffin stole several Ole Miss coaches and staff members to take to LSU with him
Kiffin didn’t sound like a fan of ultimatums when it came to his coaching decision about his future with Ole Miss, but that didn’t stop him from presenting one to his own staff. Kiffin allegedly demanded that any coaches who wanted to follow him must leave now.
He successfully pulled at least nine coaches and staff members away from Ole Miss on his way out. That list includes offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., general manager Billy Glasscock, co-offensive coordinator Joe Cox, and more. Doing this just weeks ahead of a College Football Playoff run is absolutely diabolical behavior, intentionally cutting off the Ole Miss program at the knees on his way out the door.
4. Kiffin obviously doesn’t care about his players, at least not as much as himself
Kiffin so painfully just uses his players to get what he wants, but obviously doesn’t care about them much. This showed up especially with one answer he gave to a question about all the coaching drama news just a week ago. Talking about his players:
“It’s a different generation, guys…[Players] can leave every year; a lot of it is financially based,” Kiffin said. “They don’t think the traditional way like years ago about their coach, what’s going to go on with them next year.”
Kiffin essentially acted as if players didn’t care whether their coach was leaving next year. Yes, they most certainly do, Kiffin. Just because players can leave now, as coaches have done for decades, doesn’t mean they don’t care if the coaches move on.
And they most definitely care if their coach abandons them in the middle of the best season in their program’s history with a national championship on the line. If he cared at all about his players, he would simply have stayed with Ole Miss, but he didn’t. At least not as much as he cares about money, personal prestige, and a marginal-at-best improved shot at a national title.
5. Kiffin blamed everyone but himself for Ole Miss situation on the way out
Last but not least, Kiffin chose to be as classless as possible on the way out, blaming athletic director Keith Carter for not letting him coach the Rebels through the College Football Playoff. His full quote announcing his departure:
“After a lot of prayer and time spent with family, I made the difficult decision to accept the head coaching position at LSU. I was hoping to complete a historic six season run with this year’s team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs, capitalizing on the team’s incredible success and their commitment to finish strong, and investing everything into a playoff run with guardrails in place to protect the program in any areas of concern. My request to do so was denied Keith Carter despite the team also asking him to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance. Unfortunately, that means Friday’s Egg Bowl was my last game coaching the Rebels. While I am looking forward to a new start with a unique opportunity at LSU, I will forever cherish the incredible six years I spent at Ole Miss and will be rooting hard for the team to complete their mission and bring a championship to Oxford.”
You know whose fault it is that you can’t coach Ole Miss throughout the College Football Playoff? Not Keith Carter’s. Not the college football calendar (although it is problematic). Not anyone else’s fault. It’s yours. You’re the one leaving Ole Miss. You’re the one who decided to abandon your team on their way to compete for a championship and burn as many bridges as you did.
This truly unprecedented mess is just an insane story. Kiffin is abandoning a College Football Playoff contender who loved him and would have built statues to him as the greatest coach Ole Miss ever had. All so he can go join a program that’s fired two coaches in the last five years and will gladly do the same to him if he doesn’t deliver a national title, quickly.
Every sport needs its villains. It’s fun to root against the hated rivals, the best of the best, or your buddies’ favorite teams. However, this kind of villain is different. Every fan in the nation (outside of LSU) will obviously forever now be rooting for Kiffin to fail. He is hands down the biggest villain in the history of the sport, and there’s virtually nothing he could ever do now to change that.
We’ll be back with more College Football coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
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