Oxford, MS, and Ole Miss had a renegade long before Lane Kiffin became the Rebels' head coach. Before becoming an acclaimed author, William Faulkner was the University of Mississippi Postmaster in the 1930s. Faulkner reportedly often closed the post office and locked the door so he could use the building for other pursuits. Those pursuits: writing, opening mail addressed to others, and throwing away what he believed was unnecessary mail. At times, the closures were to accommodate poker games.
Lane Kiffin shares more with Faulkner than being an Oxford renegade. Like rich male characters in some of Faulkner's novels, Kiffin has little respect for authority, and blind ego makes him impervious to any perspective but his own.
Kiffin was loved in Oxford. Now he is hated. On Saturday, when Kiffin's new team, LSU, takes on his old team, Ole Miss, the bad blood could cause trouble. The trouble could occur on the field, in the stands, or around Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, even in the famed Grove.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry is an attention-seeker, similar to Kiffin. The Governor said, "I'm thinking about having to send him in on an F-16 and maybe the team on a C-130. Security is going to be really tight. You know, we might need the National Guard out there to protect our team. I think it's going to be an interesting weekend." Mark Schlaback stated that Landry was joking. Maybe so, but I wouldn't put it past Landry to actually try calling in the National Guard ... the Louisiana one.
Ole Miss fans hating Kiffin is not surprising. Reportedly, while pulling former Ole Miss players to LSU, Kiffin also tried to add Ole Miss stars, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy.
Lane Kiffin bolting for LSU is justifiable, but ...
Whatever Saturday's outcome, one game will not settle this feud. It is insignificant that Kiffin has caused this problem. What is distasteful is how much he appears to relish it.
In closing, one more Kiffin and Faulkner comparison. After Faulkner was investigated for shirking his postal duties and shortly before he would have been fired, the later famous author resigned: "As long as I live under the capitalistic system, I expect to have my life influenced by the demands of moneyed people. But I will be damned if I propose to be at the beck and call of every itinerant scoundrel who has two cents to invest in a postage stamp. This, sir, is my resignation." Sounds a bit like Lane Kiffin to me.
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