Saturday didn’t provide much in the way of exciting games, but Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin filled in the gaps.
The drama of Kiffin’s coaching future was the talk of the pregame morning shows and even filtered into game broadcasts when scores became heavily one-sided.
It was Pat McAfee who made the best argument for why Kiffin should stay in Ole Miss, citing his own experiences at West Virginia. Here’s everything McAfee said on ESPN’s College Gameday.
“If he was to leave, basically every one of the good players, (fans are) thinking in their mind, they’re hopping in the transfer portal with him. So, not only are they going to lose the head coach, they’re also going to lose all their good players in this.
“I think all Ole Miss fans want is just to hear that he’s going to be back. And all LSU people want, or Florida people want, is like, is this guy going to be here for the transfer portal? He’s the king of the transfer portal, that’s in the middle of the playoffs. Quite a quagmire for all of this.
“But I would like to say if Lane Kiffin is listening, which we might get a call from him here in a matter of moments, it feels like that’s the case. You’re allowed to be happy and content, brother. You’re allowed to be at a place and have massive success. You’re allowed to build a place from scratch. You’re allowed to become a GOAT at a place.”
“I think there’s a feeling amongst a lot of coaches like, ‘Hey, you got to get to this job. You got to get to this job.’ Rich Rod went to Michigan. He’s back at West Virginia. If he would have never left, that guy probably has the entire university named after him.”
“So it’s like, there’s so many different decisions that are made, and obviously there’s big money involved, but it’s like Lane Kiffin is the only one that’s going to know what he wants to do. And I don’t think he has a clue at this point, but I would like to stick up for Ole Miss.
“That place is awesome. They got a lot of great players who can play another year. Lane has done a fantastic job. I guess the recruiting is a little bit different … He’s got 6 a.m. yoga, non-negotiable. He goes every single day. Then, I think he plays pickleball … And after watching his documentary, it’s like you’re allowed to be happy, dude.”
Taylor’s Take
So many great points by McAfee, who did have his shirt on while making them.
He’s right in that fans just want to know. We think we know, but it’s possible Kiffin stays at Ole Miss.
But the part about Rodriguez is the best point McAfee made. There’s no guarantee that going to a big name school is going to lead to success. It took Rodriguez almost a decade to get back to West Virginia.
If Kiffin stays and keeps winning, he’ll be able to set the speed limit on Ole Miss’s campus.
