Lane Kiffin at LSU press conference Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
By Megan Armstrong on

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LSU head coach Lane Kiffin has yet to win a national championship as a college football head coach, but he may be the GOAT of controversy and theatrics.

The late Al Davis publicly mourned that he “picked the wrong guy” after firing Kiffin from the then-Oakland Raiders. Kiffin left Tennessee in shambles for USC, and then USC famously fired him on the tarmac. Just last season, Kiffin bailed on Ole Miss before the College Football Playoff to take over at LSU. This Vanity Fair excerpt from John Talty’s forthcoming book, Lane Being Lane, is full of doozies.

Of course Kiffin’s LSU tenure is drenched in drama before he coaches his first game. Of course.

Kiffin rocked the football world when he recruited former Cleveland Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright, whom the Browns waived in August. An athlete who signed an NFL contract has never before returned to college.

The Big Ten prohibited NFL players from rejoining any of its programs, as did the ACC, Big 12, and SEC. Upon hearing about this, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay felt like “[he] took a freakin’ gummy,” and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney called it “embarrassing.”

On Thursday, ESPN’s Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel reported that Judge William Jorden out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ruled in favor of LSU by approving a preliminary injunction “that prohibits the NCAA and SEC from punishing any school” that fields ex-pros.

“Injunction granted by Judge William Jorden, paving the way for NCAA and SEC eligibility for more than 40 athletes,” Thamel posted on X. “That group includes potential LSU transfers Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, setting up a seismic decision for LSU whether they put them on the roster, which is due tomorrow.”

The SEC immediately sued LSU in U.S. District Court in Alabama, per ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, and plans to appeal Jorden’s decision.

So, this story isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but check out reactions from around the sports media world to the latest development.

About Megan Armstrong

Since first getting published as a student by the Kansas City Star in 2013, Megan Armstrong has gone wherever curiosity and stories have taken her, specializing in sports, media, music, and culture coverage. She also has an extensive background in interviewing and profiling public figures. Her work has appeared in Billboard, Boardroom, Bleacher Report, Esquire, GQ, GRAMMY.com, NYLON, Newsweek, Teen Vogue, The Hollywood Reporter, UPROXX, and elsewhere.

View all posts by Megan Armstrong