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Fun History about Lane Kiffin
Posted on 7/19/26 at 11:27 am
Posted on 7/19/26 at 11:27 am
Lane Kiffin: Why the “crazy journey”
The reality is a lot more interesting than that
His story starts with his dad
Monte Kiffin wasn’t just a football coach. He’s one of the greatest defensive minds the game has ever seen. He helped create the Tampa 2 defense that dominated the NFL and won a Super Bowl with the Bucs. Around football circles, Monte was respected. He wasn’t flashy. He was known for being brilliant, disciplined, and incredibly loyal.
Imagine growing up with that.?
some kids have dads who coach Little League. Lane grew up around NFL meeting rooms, Bill Parcells, Tony Dungy, Pete Carroll, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, and Hall of Fame coaches. Football wasn’t something he watched. It was literally the family business.
However, Lane wasn’t some superstar player who became a coach
He was a backup quarterback at Fresno State
And not just a backup…
His senior season changed everything
David Carr, yes, the future 1 overall NFL Draft beat him out. Carr was simply more talented.
So instead…
Lane walked back onto the practice field 30 minutes after his decision wearing a polo shirt instead of a jersey
He became a student assistant
He coached at Fresno State
Colorado State
Jacksonville Jaguars
Then Pete Carroll hired him at USC
That’s where people first realized this guy’s football IQ was on another level
Matt Leinart won the Heisman
Reggie Bush won the Heisman
Then…
At just 31 years old, he became the youngest head coach in modern NFL history when the Raiders hired him
Think about that
Al Davis was one of the toughest owners
They clashed constantly
Eventually Davis fired him publicly
He literally held a press conference calling his own coach a liar
That would’ve ended a lot of careers
Instead…
Lane became Tennessee’s head coach
Again…
Too young
Too fast
He was trying to lead grown men while still learning how to be a head coach himself
Then USC called
His dream job
He left Tennessee after one season
Tennessee fans still haven’t forgiven him
At USC things started well…
Then NCAA sanctions hit
Scholarship reductions
Roster issues
Lane got pulled off the team
Fired
At that point…something happened that changed everything
Nick Saban called
Saban saw an offensive genius
It wasn’t always smooth
Those two argued all the time
But they respected each other
Together they changed college football
After Alabama…
Lane took over FAU
Then Ole Miss
His offenses became some of the most creative in football
Portal recruiting fit his mold
All in all,
Sometimes you need to get humbled… repeatedly
Lane has been fired
Embarrassed
Mocked
Memed
Questioned
He became a national punchline
But every stop taught him something
Today he looks like someone who’s finally become the coach he probably always had the potential to be. not because everything went right, but because almost everything went wrong first
It’s kind of ironic
The kid who couldn’t beat David Carr for the starting quarterback job…
The coach who got fired on an airport tarmac…
The guy everyone laughed at…
Ended up becoming one of the most innovative offensive minds in modern football
Maybe Monte Kiffin taught him the most important lesson of all that day at Fresno State:
You don’t quit
The reality is a lot more interesting than that
His story starts with his dad
Monte Kiffin wasn’t just a football coach. He’s one of the greatest defensive minds the game has ever seen. He helped create the Tampa 2 defense that dominated the NFL and won a Super Bowl with the Bucs. Around football circles, Monte was respected. He wasn’t flashy. He was known for being brilliant, disciplined, and incredibly loyal.
Imagine growing up with that.?
some kids have dads who coach Little League. Lane grew up around NFL meeting rooms, Bill Parcells, Tony Dungy, Pete Carroll, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, and Hall of Fame coaches. Football wasn’t something he watched. It was literally the family business.
However, Lane wasn’t some superstar player who became a coach
He was a backup quarterback at Fresno State
And not just a backup…
His senior season changed everything
David Carr, yes, the future 1 overall NFL Draft beat him out. Carr was simply more talented.
So instead…
Lane walked back onto the practice field 30 minutes after his decision wearing a polo shirt instead of a jersey
He became a student assistant
He coached at Fresno State
Colorado State
Jacksonville Jaguars
Then Pete Carroll hired him at USC
That’s where people first realized this guy’s football IQ was on another level
Matt Leinart won the Heisman
Reggie Bush won the Heisman
Then…
At just 31 years old, he became the youngest head coach in modern NFL history when the Raiders hired him
Think about that
Al Davis was one of the toughest owners
They clashed constantly
Eventually Davis fired him publicly
He literally held a press conference calling his own coach a liar
That would’ve ended a lot of careers
Instead…
Lane became Tennessee’s head coach
Again…
Too young
Too fast
He was trying to lead grown men while still learning how to be a head coach himself
Then USC called
His dream job
He left Tennessee after one season
Tennessee fans still haven’t forgiven him
At USC things started well…
Then NCAA sanctions hit
Scholarship reductions
Roster issues
Lane got pulled off the team
Fired
At that point…something happened that changed everything
Nick Saban called
Saban saw an offensive genius
It wasn’t always smooth
Those two argued all the time
But they respected each other
Together they changed college football
After Alabama…
Lane took over FAU
Then Ole Miss
His offenses became some of the most creative in football
Portal recruiting fit his mold
All in all,
Sometimes you need to get humbled… repeatedly
Lane has been fired
Embarrassed
Mocked
Memed
Questioned
He became a national punchline
But every stop taught him something
Today he looks like someone who’s finally become the coach he probably always had the potential to be. not because everything went right, but because almost everything went wrong first
It’s kind of ironic
The kid who couldn’t beat David Carr for the starting quarterback job…
The coach who got fired on an airport tarmac…
The guy everyone laughed at…
Ended up becoming one of the most innovative offensive minds in modern football
Maybe Monte Kiffin taught him the most important lesson of all that day at Fresno State:
You don’t quit
19
Posted on 7/19/26 at 11:29 am to bigbonvi
Didn’t read this whole thing but all I know is he left those racists in Oxford for us and he’s never had a bad offense. I’m riding
Posted on 7/19/26 at 11:47 am to bigbonvi
Read the whole thing but I hope you meant he learned some sketchy stuff by growing up around Warren Sapp a sketchy individual.
Posted on 7/19/26 at 11:48 am to bigbonvi
Lots of words to describe a nepo baby.
Posted on 7/19/26 at 12:08 pm to Rouge
quote:Doesn’t that trendy term describe someone who is not actually good at what they do despite being handed the position? Doesn’t apply here.
nepo baby.
Posted on 7/19/26 at 12:09 pm to bigbonvi
Thanks for the cliff note career facts. Downvotes not warranted.
Posted on 7/19/26 at 12:11 pm to madddoggydawg
quote:
Doesn’t that trendy term describe someone who is not actually good at what they do despite being handed the position? Doesn’t apply here.
Failed with the Raiders
Failed at USC
Failed at Tennessee
Got fired by Saban in Alabama right before the national title game
Do you think that doors would be opened over and over again for someone with that much failure if he was not a nepo baby?
Posted on 7/19/26 at 12:18 pm to Rouge
quote:Yea his Dad forced owners and ADs to sign him. It had nothing to do with the best UTenn season in years, USC probation, Jamarcus Russell’s codeine addiction, turning a running back into an All-SEC quarterback at Bama and turning around the offensive philosophy of the GOAT, and his heralded success at FAU and even Lil Ol Miss. GTFO
Do you think that doors would be opened over and over again for someone with that much failure if he was not a nepo baby?
Posted on 7/19/26 at 12:44 pm to Rouge
quote:
Failed with the Raiders
Failed at USC
Failed at Tennessee
Got fired by Saban in Alabama right before the national title game
Do you think that doors would be opened over and over again for someone with that much failure if he was not a nepo baby?
So, do you think Ole Miss and LSU both hired him because he was Monte Kiffin's son?
Posted on 7/19/26 at 12:50 pm to Rouge
quote:
Lots of words to describe a nepo baby
I know you are but what am I?
Posted on 7/19/26 at 12:58 pm to Scoob
I could argue that the LSU job is the first job Kiffin got on his own merit.
Posted on 7/19/26 at 1:08 pm to bigbonvi
I thought he was a failure when he left Tenn for USC and then got fired. I thought that was it for him. Then he rebounded and something just turned on and here we are. I have to give it to him. He didn’t quit. I think the turning point was learning under Saban.
Posted on 7/19/26 at 1:32 pm to bigbonvi
If you ignore his early days when he was clearly too immature and inexperienced to be where he was, he has actually had an extremely normal and successful career since 2014. Saban probably helped him a lot.
Few years as Alabama OC. Few years as HC at small school. 6 years at Ole Miss. and now at LSU.
Few years as Alabama OC. Few years as HC at small school. 6 years at Ole Miss. and now at LSU.
Posted on 7/19/26 at 1:41 pm to bigbonvi
Super homo to be so enamored with another dude that you spent an hour of your life typing all that.
Posted on 7/19/26 at 1:56 pm to bigbonvi
quote:
. He helped create the Tampa 2 defense that dominated the NFL and won a Super Bowl with the Bucs.
Not really
quote:
Despite being identified with Dungy and the Buccaneers, the roots of the Tampa 2 actually come from the Pittsburgh Steelers and their Steel Curtain defense of the 1970s.[2] Dungy openly admitted that it was based on concepts he'd picked up in Pittsburgh, where he'd played as a safety from 1977 to 1978. "My philosophy is really out of the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers playbook," said Dungy during media interviews while at Super Bowl XLI. "That is why I have to laugh when I hear 'Tampa 2'. Chuck Noll and Bud Carson—that is where it came from, I changed very little."[3] Lovie Smith mentions having played the system in junior high school during the 1970s, though Carson introduced the idea of moving the middle linebacker into coverage. Carson's system became especially effective with the Steelers' addition of aggressive and athletic middle linebacker Jack Lambert.[2][4]
Posted on 7/19/26 at 2:27 pm to lsuson
I've followed Kiffin's career over the years, like lots of people around here. For awhile it was because it was a fascinating train wreck.
I came to the conclusion early on that he is absolutely a football savant, a genius for the game. And clearly a fantastic interview, because he kept landing great jobs. Nepotism only gets you so far, especially after 1-2 firings.
USC the first time- this was LSU's unplayed rival. These were the two elite coaches and programs of the early 2000's, Saban here and Carroll there. Both were defensive minds. And I'll be the first to acknowledge, USC had a significantly better offense. LSU's was ball control and don't screw up what the defense was doing; USC was producing Heismans in addition to the smothering defense. That wasn't Pete, I believe it was Kiffin.
The Raiders- evidence that Kiffin was the offensive mind, which is what got him the interview and how he aced it. I've softened on Kiffin's failure there, because we've since learned that Al Davis had declined (to say it politely), and the Jamarcus thing was a mess. And I think Kiffin didn't compromise in the way he needed to, to keep that job.
Tennessee and USC- Tenn was a great rebound job, and a very good program to take over. It was also in a rebuild mode, would have taken a couple seasons to get things back on track. When USC came calling... that was still one of the elite programs in CFB, a step above UT. And he'd been there as an OC when they won some titles. Smart business move, at the time. Don't know if he knew about the probation coming, or if he thought he'd get more rope because of it.
And again, he clearly didn't compromise the way he needed to, when he got fired on the tarmac. Kinda reminds me of what happened to Kelly here at LSU- insisting on doing it his way, or the highway.
Alabama OC- Saban gets a lot of credit for rehabbing Lane, but Kiffin deserves some going the other direction too. Saban had been running his "LSU" model, elite defense and a don't-screw-it-up offense. The game (Auburn in particular) was catching up to that finally, some teams were figuring ways to break down that defense and score some points.
Kiffin helped transform Bama more into the "USC" model, with an elite offense paired with the solid defense. Didn't need to hold teams under 17 to win now.
I do think Saban helped show Kiffin how to better play the game with admin.
I don't think the firing was anything more than "go, spread your wings if you are going to be a HC again". There certainly appears to be no animosity between the two, in fact there seems to be respect and friendship.
FAU was a nice test-run.
Ole Miss was proof of concept. It was a mid-tier SEC program with a relatively low ceiling, he got them humming.
To me, the LSU job for him, is the moment he's been building towards since taking the Alabama OC. It's NOT a mid-tier, LSU has resources and titles, and no glass ceiling. This is the chance to do what he wanted to at USC, and this time his admin is all-in and not wanting to micromanage him, and he also might have learned to get along better too.
I came to the conclusion early on that he is absolutely a football savant, a genius for the game. And clearly a fantastic interview, because he kept landing great jobs. Nepotism only gets you so far, especially after 1-2 firings.
USC the first time- this was LSU's unplayed rival. These were the two elite coaches and programs of the early 2000's, Saban here and Carroll there. Both were defensive minds. And I'll be the first to acknowledge, USC had a significantly better offense. LSU's was ball control and don't screw up what the defense was doing; USC was producing Heismans in addition to the smothering defense. That wasn't Pete, I believe it was Kiffin.
The Raiders- evidence that Kiffin was the offensive mind, which is what got him the interview and how he aced it. I've softened on Kiffin's failure there, because we've since learned that Al Davis had declined (to say it politely), and the Jamarcus thing was a mess. And I think Kiffin didn't compromise in the way he needed to, to keep that job.
Tennessee and USC- Tenn was a great rebound job, and a very good program to take over. It was also in a rebuild mode, would have taken a couple seasons to get things back on track. When USC came calling... that was still one of the elite programs in CFB, a step above UT. And he'd been there as an OC when they won some titles. Smart business move, at the time. Don't know if he knew about the probation coming, or if he thought he'd get more rope because of it.
And again, he clearly didn't compromise the way he needed to, when he got fired on the tarmac. Kinda reminds me of what happened to Kelly here at LSU- insisting on doing it his way, or the highway.
Alabama OC- Saban gets a lot of credit for rehabbing Lane, but Kiffin deserves some going the other direction too. Saban had been running his "LSU" model, elite defense and a don't-screw-it-up offense. The game (Auburn in particular) was catching up to that finally, some teams were figuring ways to break down that defense and score some points.
Kiffin helped transform Bama more into the "USC" model, with an elite offense paired with the solid defense. Didn't need to hold teams under 17 to win now.
I do think Saban helped show Kiffin how to better play the game with admin.
I don't think the firing was anything more than "go, spread your wings if you are going to be a HC again". There certainly appears to be no animosity between the two, in fact there seems to be respect and friendship.
FAU was a nice test-run.
Ole Miss was proof of concept. It was a mid-tier SEC program with a relatively low ceiling, he got them humming.
To me, the LSU job for him, is the moment he's been building towards since taking the Alabama OC. It's NOT a mid-tier, LSU has resources and titles, and no glass ceiling. This is the chance to do what he wanted to at USC, and this time his admin is all-in and not wanting to micromanage him, and he also might have learned to get along better too.
Posted on 7/19/26 at 2:48 pm to bigbonvi
Time for the cherry on top at LSU - cement the legacy LK
Posted on 7/19/26 at 2:56 pm to bigbonvi
Ironically, todays landscape of college athletics suit Kiffin perfectly! He can buy his team and sink or swim!
Posted on 7/19/26 at 3:29 pm to oldskule
quote:I'm thinking the opposite...
Ironically, todays landscape of college athletics suit Kiffin perfectly! He can buy his team and sink or swim!
Pre-portal, Kiffin would get recruits in, teach them his system, and develop into a potent offense. The longer they're in it, the better they become. The stronger the program's resources and reputation, the better they start and the higher their ceiling is.
That's the real benefit of an LSU vs an Ole Miss. You, in theory, are starting with a better group of recruits, so your target in a couple seasons would be undefeated champs, not spoiler contender.
The portal skews that. We're not hitting the field (this year, at least) with "LSU guys", we're playing with a lot of free agents. Leavitt doesn't know the system, he hasn't played in it. We just think he's the best option available for next season, and if he comes back a) great, b) we didn't produce this year as much as we wanted. We have a bunch of non-LSU WRs coming in, not the classic homegrown athletes that emerge as 1st rd picks. Might be rinse and repeat next year, or maybe Longstreet is the true answer (get a young 5 star guy and groom him).
Otherwise, we're just a Texas Tech with a better legacy, but playing in a tougher conference (and yeah, with a better offensive scheme). As long as we can afford to, we can compete.
Posted on 7/19/26 at 3:47 pm to bigbonvi
quote:
Together they changed college football
How did they change college football?
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