All throughout his move from Ole Miss to LSU, Lane Kiffin has worked hard to ensure that he stays on message as player-first.
As Kiffin negotiated his departure from Oxford, he and his camp leaked and then ultimately spoke openly about his desire to remain in charge of the program through the College Football Playoff. And in an interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith shortly before boarding his plane to Baton Rouge, Kiffin referenced the idea that “all the national people understand” why athletic director Keith Carter should let Kiffin coach Ole Miss the rest of the year. Kiffin was also careful to note the fact that he was barred from a personal goodbye to his team on Sunday morning.
At his introductory press conference in Baton Rouge, Kiffin suggested he didn’t know the financial details of his own contract, the implication being that his dedication was so strong that he couldn’t care less about his paycheck.
Over at ESPN, Rece Davis is having none of it.
“Look, I wish him success. He’s neither friend nor enemy. He’s a coach that we cover,” Davis said Monday on the College GameDay podcast. “I wish him success, because these guys put a lot into it, and he does too, but I don’t need to hear any more about pouring into young people.”
“I don’t need to hear that. You know, this is about one thing. It’s about winning, and it’s about his career. And that’s okay, because that’s what a lot of people do in life.”
Davis continued by saying that there is a clear disparity between Kiffin’s claims about his commitment to young college athletes and the way in which he is treating his Rebels players:
“If this were about anything else, in my judgment, any coach, not just Lane, would have said, ‘Boy, I really want that LSU job. I’ve committed to these guys. I’ve poured into them. There will be another great job open someday, and maybe I’ll get that. Maybe that’ll be the time, or maybe they won’t.’ So it’s okay that he decided to do this. Perfectly, fine with it.”
As Davis noted, Kiffin is not the first coach to act in his own self-interest, and he likely will not be the last. But it sounds as if Davis simply wanted Kiffin to be honest about his intentions.
Later in the episode, Davis expanded his critique beyond Kiffin. The longtime ESPN college sports host recalled former Duke (and Ole Miss) coach David Cutcliffe, who also tried to claim the No. 1 job as a college coach is to “develop young people.”
Davis corrected the notion, stating that coaches are, in fact, measured on winning.
Especially when a coach has an eye that wanders as much as Kiffin’s, and brings a cult of personality to campus, it will be hard to ever make the argument that they are driven, first and foremost, by relationships with student athletes.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.