Lane Kiffin basically confirms that SEC coaches are exactly like WWE wrestlers
Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin is the kind of guy who would probably break a couple of rules and talk about Fight Club if he was cast in Brad Pitt's wildly successful 1999 film. Kiffin loves social media, he's always candid in interviews (which is refreshing), and he's never been afraid to speak […]
Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin is the kind of guy who would probably break a couple of rules and talk about Fight Club if he was cast in Brad Pitt's wildly successful 1999 film.
Kiffin loves social media, he's always candid in interviews (which is refreshing), and he's never been afraid to speak his mind.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Kiffin basically revealed this week that SEC head coaches are just like WWE wrestlers.
I don't think I'm spoiling anything for major WWE fans, but the storylines and "feuds" showcased in WWE programming are purely fictional and for entertainment purposes only.
And apparently, the "feuds" between SEC head coaches fall into that same category — at least based on recent comments from Kiffin.
Kiffin was recently asked how SEC coaches handle their "feuds" while in meetings with other SEC head coaches (such as the spring meetings in Florida last week). Alabama's Nick Saban and Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher, for example, exchanged plenty of words last summer. And South Carolina's Shane Beamer suggested earlier this offseason that there are a couple of SEC head coaches he'd like to fight.
According to Kiffin's recent comments, that's all for show. It's just part of the job.
“I’ve said this before, that room is different than what you guys probably picture it as being," said Kiffin (via On3). "Even last year with the Jimbo, Nick stuff. It’s not like that in there. We have jobs and part of it is whatever we do in front of the camera or out there on the field and stuff."
“That’s just part of the job," added Kiffin. "It’s much different in there, for the most part, with coaches and doing over years and seeing coaches have spats. They’re usually pretty good in there.”
So there you have it — SEC head coaches are just great showmen (with former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier perhaps being the best showman of them all). It sounds like there's a lot of respect between the 14 SEC head coaches behind the scenes, but that respect doesn't move the needle much when there are cameras and microphones present (or keyboards, in Kiffin's case).
So as a result, SEC fans get to see rival coaches throwing barbs at each other via social media or traditional media. But don't get too caught up in what's said, it's just for the cameras according to Kiffin.
Featured image via USA TODAY Sports
