LANE KIFFIN VS THE MEDIA
- Lonn Phillips Sullivan
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
Under the hot lights, loud microphone pops, and shark-infested national media waters of SEC Spring Meetings, while LSU Head Coach Lane Kiffin endured one question after another about leaving Oxford, his final days at Ole Miss, a Florida reporter demanding to know why Kiffin rejected the Gators, and even a question about HBCUs calling upon black athletes to "boycott Southern schools, like LSU...", it all quickly turned into a circus...everyone in the room typing away furiously, wiping feverish sweat away from their boomer brows as they waited, hoping to seize upon anything that could even be conceived as or twisted into something controversial...
The mission is clear every time LSU's Head Coach takes to the podium: Lane Kiffin = internet buzz which = $$$ for media entities, including LSUOdyssey...
We can blame the salacious-seeking reporters all we want, however, none of their questions were out of bounds, despite their intense subject matter, manipulative framing or bizarre context....the reason why the media asked these questions is abundantly obvious:
During recent interviews with Vanity Fair, On3, a podcast with Pardon My Take, and now yet another for USA Today, our Head Coach has commented on and even extensively trolled all comers on every single professional, personal, and even political line of questioning thrown at him during Tuesday's press conference.
Over the course of multiple candid interviews this past month, Coach Kiffin has spoken about past racism affecting current recruiting at Ole Miss, he took on his former employers as a university, Oxford as a community, and made sure to point out the limits he found within their football program at every turn.
Because of his bold comments, or reckless honesty, Coach Kiffin opened Pandora's Box.....now anything is on the table.
Although he created his own problem here, Kiffin is no fool.
He meant to stir the pot in the beginning, his words were calculated all along, and he expected these kinds of questions in Destin. So, Kiffin kept things closer to the vest this time around, even refusing to comment on some questions, obviously aware of the hounds baying before him, sniffing for any trace of blood on the trail.
Yes, many will take a comment Kiffin made about Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart "losing his QB" during a SEC title game as some sort of "shot", but what Kiffin said was mostly a nothingburger with cheese, despite the voluminous media you'll no doubt see commissioned to chronicle his answer as "the initial punch" in an imaginary, epic, "take no prisoners brawl between Kiffin and Kirby"...
Instead, Coach Kiffin kept his words clipped, to the point, attempting to turn the focus towards his $42 million dollar roster and elite staff, headlined by a lyrical waxing of Ed Orgeron's sensational Baton Rouge return, before delivering an excellent update on star QB Sam Leavitt's rejuvenated health....
Borrrrrrrring!
The assembled press wanted more blood on the screen, they clamored for the next chapter in a war of escalation between Kiffin and Ole Miss....they didn't want some extremely well paid coach rambling about football....
Sadly for some of these reptilian figures, they slithered away somewhat disappointed.
ESPN reporter Heather Dinich asked Kiffin "where his relationship is at right now with Ole Miss?", only for Lane to somewhat scoff at the question, call Heather out for her targeted timing and gotcha-isms, and stick to the script of "it worked out for everyone". But he couldn't help himself, adding a charismatic flash he couldn't resist: "Sorry, I know you wanted that one...I had a good line, too..."
Next, when asked about the NAACP telling black athletes to "boycott" Southern schools in states with questionable voting rights legislation (like LSU), Coach Kiffin shot down that insane question immediately, refusing to allow his prior position on Mississippi to be used for more political discussion: "Yeah, we're not....I don't have a comment on that, I think Verge (referring to LSU Athletic Director Verge Ausberry) will have something on it later....thank you...."
Cold.
Sealed.
As if Kiffin's "inner Saban" emanated out of him in the face of what could've been the most viral moment of this endless Ole Miss /Vanity Fair saga (and another self-induced episode for the internet to explode over), Lane refused to take the bait & his "answer" faded out of him like a ghost.
Whew.....
Following a fiery winter and spring opening to his LSU tenure, filled with feuds, online apocalypse between fanbases, an intense hatred between LSU and Ole Miss boiling over as both teams traded coaches & fought over players, as Kiffin was called a "traitor" (among other nasties) before he shot back at Oxford himself with calculated bedevilment that lit the college football lanscape on fire, we need more "no comment" answers, just to take a breath here...
....we need something that'll pour water over the scalding flames, turn the temperature down, muffle the outside noise, and focus inward on what matters most:
LSU's football team winning games (a lot of 'em) on the field in the fall....
Because for all the bluster and bite the media makes out of every Lane Kiffin quote, no matter what he says or does, doesn't say or doesn't do, winning games this fall is the only, ultimate factor on which Lane Kiffin will be judged.
MORE FROM OUR ONGOING
LANE KIFFIN SERIES👇
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
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