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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

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Still, I’m sure it had to be more about the money after watching that. Texas Tech know they losing Easton, ha. They weren’t losing Brewster.

Only two teams that generate a profit are football and men’s basketball. Everything else loses money. Football team gets massive tv and ticket sales. The men’s basketball get the tv deal, which makes enough to compensate for poor ticket sales. But ticket sales alone for the small pmac and skip bertman field are not enough to turn a profit for baseball and women’s basketball.women’s basketball did get some Primetime tv games this year so maybe they get more for that? But historically only football and men’s basketball make money period.

If this don’t get your blood pumping, you ain’t a lsu fan

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NCAA jersey patches are projected to generate significant revenue, with top college football programs potentially earning $3.5 million to $6 million annually, and top men's basketball programs earning up to $2.2 million per year. Total annual valuations for premier schools can reach $12 million
LSU already has a deal with Wooside Energy.

Wrong board. It affects the Saints draft pick. Not so much LSU.

Ole Miss filed another appeal yesterday and hired some big shot lawyer. They are pretty confident he will get another year. frick it. I hope he does get it and we go to their house next year and smoke em in front of all their fans.

The amount of money this sport makes in a year is in the billions. Less than 2% of these student athletes actually make it to the NFL. I agree major regulatory change needs to happen, but let these kids get some of that money. They are the ones experiencing controlled car crashes every week for our entertainment. Why shouldn’t they get paid for it? Where do you think all the money should go to? I do agree this Wild West crap where the players have too much power and no real responsibility to a school needs to change. But I agree they should be compensated.

I know he has options and will get his bag no matter what, but do we get to have our doctors assess him before we drop that kind of money? Or is it we trust what his doctors say about prognosis?

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Ole Miss put in another waiver for him yesterday. More detailed. He's staying at ole miss if granted.

Even if somehow he gets it, it seems like he may have committed to Ole Miss for the final year. Why would they go through the trouble of filing yet another waiver on his behalf with loads of new supporting evidence unless he gave them a verbal. If they thought he would follow Lane they wouldn't do that. Unless they are just that desperate And hopeful.

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