The world of college football was stunned last season when Lane Kiffin, the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels at the time, made the decision to leave for the LSU Tigers.
With drama surrounding the timing, urgency and hostility behind the move, the decision wasn’t exactly well received. He left right as the Rebels were gearing up for a run in the College Football Playoff behind star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
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While the tremendous pay raise obviously played a role in choosing LSU, Kiffin recently told Vanity Fair that Baton Rouge doesn’t bring the same recruiting hurdles that Oxford, Mississippi did due to a lack of diversity.
“‘Hey, coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi.’ That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Parents were sitting here this weekend saying the campus’ diversity feels so great: ‘It feels like there’s no segregation. And we want that for our kid because that’s the real world.’”
His explanation isn’t one that’s heard very often when asking a college football coach about taking one of the most luxurious jobs in the sport. That’s especially true when a $91 million contract is also a factor.
Kiffin didn’t cite any specific examples and he didn’t flat out point the finger at Ole Miss’ diversity issues, but his claim isn’t without substance.
The confederate flag was a common occurrence at home football games until the school banned flagsticks altogether in 1997.
He went on to tell Vanity Fair that he doesn’t want to come off as disrespectful towards his old team.
“I just hope [my comment] comes across respectful to Ole Miss…. There are some things that I’m saying that are factual, they’re not shots.”
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
