After weeks of speculation, the college football world finally got word on Sunday that Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin would, in fact, be leaving the Rebels to take over at LSU.
Although you can't exactly blame Kiffin for choosing the Tigers—a dream gig for any college football coach—the decision went over about as well as you'd expect among Ole Miss fans, who notably harassed the coach at the airport on his way out. Still, it would seem Kiffin hopes history is kinder to him than the present moment, and is doing perhaps the best he can to not take the vitriol personally.
"Time heals a lot of things," Kiffin told reporters during his intro presser on Monday, "and having gone through this in this conference before, I sure hope that happens. I sure hope that the people [in Oxford] and the fans [at Ole Miss] can focus on the amazing six years, the greatest football run in the history of the school. The greatest regular season in the history of the state just happened there, and I really hope they can focus on that."
The longtime coach, who has a history of job-jumping, also conceded that the anger is (1) just what happens in the SEC, and (2) something he takes to mean he was doing a good job.
"That's the SEC, and I've been around long enough to know that," he explained of the backlash. "I'm not upset at those reactions by fans, by people. I think that people get really upset when you leave somewhere because they feel hurt because you're doing a really good job."
That said, the coach did make clear that, although he understands the reaction, he doesn't like it much, either.
"I'm human. Even though you understand it's the passion, you're with your son and you're driving, and you gotta call a cop that you know so they'll help you," he described of his journey out of Oxford. "And people are screaming at you, trying to run you off the road. I don't know what they're gonna do. That affects you. That airport scene, and all the things being said? I understand that it's the passion, but they're saying that about you."
Kiffin added that he felt bothered by the community reaction on the plane, but once he landed, greeted by LSU staff and by fans, he was secure in his decision.
"You go by Tiger Stadium and it's lit up," he described of his post-flight drive. "And you're like, 'I absolutely made the right decision.' And it all went away."
You can watch those comments below starting at 55:45, then again at 59:55:
Kiffin coached the Rebels to an 11-1 campaign this season, which will likely result in their first appearance in the College Football Playoff and a run at what could be the program's second national championship. And although he said he wanted to stay on to lead the team through that, he claimed the Ole Miss AD would not allow him, which means he ends his six-year run in Oxford with a 55-19 record and a complicated local legacy.
He now takes over one of the best programs in college football—one that counts standouts Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase and Malik Nabers among its alumni—following the dismissal of coach Brian Kelly in October. Will all of the acrimony be worth it? He can only hope.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lane Kiffin 'Not Upset' at Ole Miss Fans for Post-Exit Vitriol: 'That's the SEC'.
