Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin once famously said “we want volunteers, not hostages” about a contract dispute with a player.
It’s been said by others since and before, but the sentiment is true. “If you don’t want to be here, we don’t want you here.”
Maybe that’s a better way of looking at Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for LSU before the Rebels’ College Football Playoff appearance.
New Ole Miss coach Pete Golding has talked about wanting to be at Ole Miss and one key assistant coach feels the same way.
“I love it here, love being in Mississippi,” quarterbacks coach Joe Judge said. “I love being in Oxford, love these players. This university has been tremendous. The fans have been great. The meeting with my family. Why would I want to leave here? This is awesome, right? We’re playing playoff football right now. We get to go out there Saturday and play Tulane in the playoffs. Where else would you rather be?”
Judge, the former New York Giants head coach, joined the Rebels ahead of last season, but that wasn’t always the plan.
“We got done in Foxborough, and my plan was to take a year off, reconnect with the family,” Judge said. “Really spend some time and decide what I want to do. I was getting that itch of getting back into college for a long time.
“We got to about March, and my plan of taking a year off was kind of…my wife kicked me out of the house a little bit. I’m starting to rearrange kitchens and screw up garages and all types of stuff like that.”
Oxford was the first place Judge and three days after arriving, he was agreeing to join Kiffin’s staff at Ole Miss. He also decided not to follow Kiffin to LSU like some other offensive assistant coaches.
Judge and Chambliss
One benefit of having Judge remain with Ole Miss is Trinidad Chambliss.
The former Division II national championship-winning quarterback is still waiting for a decision on his waiver for another year of eligibility, but having the coach who found and brought him to Oxford will be helpful in retaining Chambliss.
On Tuesday, Judge was asked about the moment he came across Chambliss in his scouting work.
“It was a season highlight, so it wasn’t one or two quick plays,” Judge said. “We watched the tape he put out there for the portal. But he was making enough plays that just jumped out at you. I mean, you could see this guy, and then you research, all right, who is this guy? You understand, all right, he just won the national championship at Ferris State. This guy’s been one of the best players at that level.
“There’s good football players at every level. Like, you learn that really going through the draft. You scour, you find a lot of really good players. You know, and there’s been a lot of really good players that have come across, you know, our desk to evaluate for the draft that you might not really anticipate this guy jumping out at you. Then you turn the tape on, you’re like, wow.”
Chambliss has left plenty of Ole Miss fans saying wow and they’re hoping he can do it a few more times in the CFP.
