Lane Kiffin can be a hard guy not to like. He's funny, runs an exciting offense, and brought a ton of success to Ole Miss during his tenure there. He is, without a doubt, one of the best coaches in college football.
He's also a petulant child to his core. His rough exit from Ole Miss to take the head coaching job at LSU is just the latest example. Many have sworn that Kiffin has grown up significantly over the last few years. But when the chips were down, and it was time to be an adult, Kiffin couldn't pretend any longer. That's the thing about narcissists. They can't hide it forever.
As always, Kiffin acted in the best interest of himself and not his players. It's the reason he was never a serious candidate to replace Nick Saban at Alabama. Because Alabama knows Kiffin better than most.
Kiffin served as Alabama's offensive coordinator from 2014-16. It was a coaching rehab center for Kiffin, who had just been fired by USC and was considered by most to be untouchable in coaching circles. Saban gambled on him, and it paid off to the tune of three straight SEC Championships and the 2015 National Championship.
But by the end of Kiffin's tenure in 2016, the situation became so untenable that Saban fired him one week before the National Championship Game. Kiffin had already been named the next head coach at Florida Atlantic and was so distracted that Saban believed the Crimson Tide had a better shot without him.
Kiffin's inability to be a professional might have cost Alabama the 2016 National Championship.
Lane Kiffin is still the same Lane Kiffin who burned the bridge at Alabama nearly a decade ago
Nine years later, nothing has changed. With Ole Miss on the precipice of the first playoff berth in school history, Kiffin is set to abandon his team before the run can even begin. His demands to stay at Ole Miss through the playoff run were met with staunch objections from the Ole Miss administration, and rightfully so. He can't be the sitting head coach of a rival school and continue to lead the Rebels.
Leave it to Kiffin to go out kicking and screaming.
BREAKING: Lane Kiffin has lined up most of his offensive staff to join him at LSU, @clowfb reports.
— On3 (@On3sports) November 30, 2025
He's told them if they’re not on the plane to Baton Rouge today, they won’t have a spot on staff👀
The Tigers have a press conference scheduled for Monday to officially… pic.twitter.com/IDmEvCbXwz
Kiffin's personality is good for college football. He brings a lot of fun wherever he goes. But when he moves on, he always leaves a trail of destruction and chaos. He's going to win a lot of football games, but eventually, controversy will follow. Another job will pique his interest. He'll hold another team and fanbase hostage.
His exit from Ole Miss is just par for the course. From the time he got his first head coaching job with the Oakland Raiders until now, every program - save for perhaps Florida Atlantic - was happy to see him leave. 16 years later, he's still hated in Knoxville. That hate won't even register on the Richter scale for the amount of hate that will be emanating toward Kiffin from Oxford when he brings LSU there next season.
He might finally have one thing in common with Nick Saban: Ole Miss fans may burn him in effigy like LSU fans did to Saban in 2008 when he brought Alabama to Baton Rouge.
Hopefully, the Alabama fans still holding out hope that Kiffin would one day return to Tuscaloosa can leave that silly fantasy behind. Because Alabama already knew who Kiffin was. Everyone else is late to the party, but they're all finding out.