Todd McShay suggests Lane Kiffin waited until after Iron Bowl because he wanted Alabama job

The consensus about why Lane Kiffin waited so long to announce that he would be the next LSU head football coach was that he wanted to continue coaching Ole Miss.

First, Kiffin wanted to guide his team through the end of the regular season and the Egg Bowl. Then, he reportedly wished to negotiate a way to continue coaching the Rebels in the College Football Playoff. And as the Iron Bowl approached, reports emerged suggesting Kiffin could make a last-ditch plea if Ole Miss were to take Alabama’s spot in the SEC championship game.

Once Alabama won and Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter slammed the door shut on Kiffin continuing to work in Oxford, he announced his move to LSU and boarded his plane for Baton Rouge.

But in a Sunday night appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, longtime college football reporter Todd McShay told a different story.

McShay, who has covered Kiffin since he was a wunderkind propelling Reggie Bush to the Heisman House, claimed that the coach was waiting until the end of the Iron Bowl to reveal his decision because the outcome could very well have changed his mind. According to him, Kiffin was holding out hope that a Crimson Tide loss might have led to the ‘Bama job coming open — and him being a candidate.

“The same people that told me Friday night that it’s done, that he’s got a place (in Baton Rouge) basically, and everyone in his circle knows that he’s going to LSU, the same people were telling me … it will not be official until after that Alabama game,” McShay said. “Because the job he wants more than any other job … I’ve known Lane for over 20 years, I’m buds with Lane, we communicate, but if you just watch, as much as he butted heads with Nick (Saban) at Alabama, he and Saban have a bond and a mutual respect for one another, even though they drove each other crazy. That was the job he wanted.”

Saban famously brought Kiffin in as offensive coordinator in 2014 to help rehabilitate him after he was fired by USC midseason. While in Tuscaloosa, Kiffin helped them win the 2015 national championship and was on the cusp of a second before Saban fired him for flirting with FAU while preparing for the College Football Playoff.

According to McShay, Alabama still holds a special place in Kiffin’s heart. And despite the dramatic move from Ole Miss to LSU, earning him the ire of Oxford faithful and sports fans everywhere, he supposedly wondered whether an even more surprising move to Tuscaloosa might be possible.

“So there was still this one percent in him, and no one will ever admit it, and especially him … I truly believe there was a small percentage of Lane who was like, I’m going to LSU, it’s done, but what happens if Auburn beats Alabama?” McShay said. “Because that thing could fall apart in a hurry with Kaelen DeBoer.”

Kiffin now has what many consider to be the best job in college football and a reported $13 million annual salary, so the faint dream of being back in a crimson quarter-zip can die an easy death. But McShay’s comments pose a fascinating what-if for this already dizzying story.