Lane is a snake (CBS Sports Article at #107 -- See Also #189 - #206 - #220)

Kiffin’s maturity parade over these past few years was just an illusion. It was a PR stunt to wash off the slime, so he could get to a blue blood contender school. Nothing about his core changed - he was only able to hide it better. The only thing real was the man-child offensive mind, the trolling, the aloof savant schtick, and his ultimate desire to be Nick Saban. He’s had a football silver spoon in his mouth since the beginning, but without humility and appreciation, his ego burned a wide path and multiple fanbases. Now with the toxic fumes seemingly behind him, his inflated head could no longer be tethered to the Grove.

We were never really a player because he requires fealty from the admin. No guardrails, no questions, just have pallets of cash and ‘watch me work’. Sad part is, OM would have probably given him whatever his greedy little mind could conjure just to keep him.

I thought he really didn’t know what he wanted, but I see now I was fooled. It was all an act as he ‘tried’ to string OM along, I guess hoping he could announce his intentions at a time that would force their hand - they would HAVE to let him coach the team no matter what. His tactic backfired of course because the OM leadership have a spine. I’m glad they told him to pound sand. I have a lot of respect for those gents even though it probably cost them a few playoff games.

In the end, he and LSU are a perfect fit - the mercenary golden child worshipped at the den of iniquity. It could be a Saban-esque dynasty or blow up in a couple years, but will probably end up somewhere in-between towards the latter. After the reemergence of the pompous mess that is still Lane Kiffin, I’m honestly glad the drama isn’t ours to endure.

 

If it comes to him not winning the big games like BK, they won't have to pay it. They will take the first opportunity to fire him for cause for some sort of violation of the "Tigah Standard." You think the thing LSU learned from the BK situation was not to try cheating a head coach out of his buyout? Doubt it. I think it was to not get emotional after a bad loss and ensure all of the ducks are in order for a "cause" firing in advance.

 

Kiffin is a Drama Queen (King).

If he had chosen Florida, I am convinced
that he would have clashed with the Administration
and Boosters to such an extent that he would be looking to leave,
leaving Florida in the dust just as he did to Ole Miss.

Is that worth it ? We may have dodged a bullet.

 

IMO, this is THE thing that defines his psyche. It is all about him and not some idea of the institution of football, which has richly rewarded him. Yes, he may be butt-hurt because of the hurt Old Miss is experiencing, but he did not need to up the ante. That shows his immaturity in spades.

And to that, we need to bring back some oldies but goodies...

 

That tracks. Absolutely. At the end of the day, people make decisions based on fear, honor, and interest. Always has it been thus, and ever shall it be. As an organization, our fears, honor, and interest were inextricably linked: we did not want to become Nebraska where eventually losing seasons are normalized, a mediocre season is acceptable; we did not want to lose face by having a rival sweep in and take the coach we had intended to hire first; we wanted to return as quickly as possible to a standard of winning big games, player awards, recruiting classes, and above all championships.

When we, as an organization, empower an individual to make decisions on our behalf, we have a reasonable expectation that they will make said decisions based on the organization's fears, honor, and interests. As far as I can tell, Stricklin did what the very worst leaders do and made his decision, very early in the process, on the basis of his own personal fears, honor, and interests, not the organization's. He feared what changes Kiffin would bring and how that would reflect on his authority, the demand from Kiffin to bring in his own GM being just one of the things we know about. He feared having a head coach that the organization would support over him in any future disputes. He feared Condron. He feared everything bad he could imagine except for what the organization feared. Apparently, what he never feared (and should have) is losing his position if he failed to deliver what the organization demanded. And that is the real problem that needs to be rectified.

 

Nethinks Marty is going to be the Ahmad Rashad to Kiffin like Rashad was to Jordan. I feel sorry for him.

 

So is Kiffin. He was smart enough in his contract to make sure LSU honors whatever incentives he would have earned if he had stayed to coach the playoffs.

 

Very well thought out soliloquy.

Question, exactly how much of the total athletic budget at UF is contributed by you and your associates (whatever they may be)? That is all I am making in my take. I patently do not like where major college football - and the sports in general, they WILL follow - is going and to me Kiffin is a coronation of that fact. What I perceive is a major contributor to what is UF sports hitting the brakes. Will it last? We shall see. But to believe in the "if LSU does it then we can too" is all there is, well I will play the "mom" line: If they jump off the cliff because they are compelled to do so, are you going to do it also?

Easy to be up in the stands cheering and booing, harder to do in the game...financially speaking.

 

Point taken, but as far as we can tell, Kiffin did not choose LSU on the basis of finances. Reportedly, our offers were about the same in terms of salary, NIL, etc. Further, we had other intangibles in our favor that LSU could not match that have been discussed ad naseum here. By all appearances, Kiffin chose LSU primarily because he felt could not do his best work under Stricklin. Hard for me to fault him for that.

 

If I had a vote, he would still be at Old Miss. But the...whatever...was too great to ignore. My problem is with the "whatever" today. So, Harbaugh is the next OSU coach because the AD at Michigan isn't up to speed? I realize I am talking more equals than Old Miss is to LSU, financially speaking, but it all goes to what is the current era and it is plainly lousy.

 

Wish the show was still around so we could have Kiffins Kajun Korner just one time.

 

Well, you still have Kaitlyn’s Krimson Kollapse to look forward to. Quite possibly, next episode comes on this weekend.

 

We're doomed to repeat this like Sisyphus, it seems. I am not a Stricklin supporter, but to not see that Stricklin is obligated to select people that reflect the expectations of the greater University of Florida leadership is to ascribe to malice what has a possible, and just as likely IMO, explanation of the way large institutions, like UF, make people decisions.

UF would not, you are correct, give Kiffin the rope that he wanted to "run his game" in the Kiffin way. We all see the manner Kiffin operates, and he has been the same way in many prior employment situations. Do you not think Stricklin, as any executive should do i.e look ahead and anticipate future events - has made the effort, probably starting long ago and in many settings formal and casual - spoken to people in Knoxville, LA, Oakland, etc., about the baggage Kiffin brings? The football sideline stuff is what we all see. But there is so much more to a hire than mere sideline Xs and Os.

As an HR guy, if I was at UF, I would be VERY careful if my company were seeking to hire a guy with an established track record of getting business results but at a cost, for guardrail-to-guardrail antics, and potential ethical violations that might impugn my organization's reputation - as Kiffin has shown repeatedly. So yes, the expectations to do something different than Napier would have obligated UF to speak to him, probably at the start. "Stricklin went in not supporting Kiffin" some say. I'd say he had ample reason to set the table VERY clearly, up front , that this was a carpet being laid down that had limits and boundaries. Kiffin probably chafed at that, yet our allure, all the intangibles, mader him wonder if he could be himself / successful under UF's (not just Stricklin's) expectations.

 

Great post. We differ, on some points, but you make this case clearly and well.

 

Exactly. A giant failure of a PR stunt. If you're not interested, don't make like you are.

 

I would to be sure. Better to have leverage and never need it. All you need is plausible deniability that you only learned of the misconduct the same time as everyone else through media reporting (and who could have leaked it to the media?).

 

Disagree (see my post above) but, what is more likely, IMO, is this: Stricklin (who is not stupid, IMO) hears and thinks enough after the "Get Kiffin" noise that, in his role representing UF (and the fans), he has no choice in having Kiffin at the top of the list, regardless of any thoughts one way or the other. Stricklin was OBLIGATED, by virtue of what Kiffin had shown in all his prior stops as an offensive whiz, to go after him since Napier's downfall was the lack of offensive whiz-dom (See what I did there?).

BUT Stricklin, in his executive capacity and obligation for due diligence, knew he could NOT pursue Kiffin and simply IGNORE all the peccadillos and chaos that would accompany Kiffin, if allowed to operate as he did in Tennessee, Oakland, LA, etc. So Stricklin picks up the phone and calls people at all Kiffin's prior employers. It's a thing we HR people call "Reference Checking". The business results can be seen by all; what else do we need to know about this fellow as a potential employee. I am quite sure Stricklin heard, again from people that had employed Kiffin, the excesses and issues that marked whatever success Kiffin might bring. So Stricklin, again feeling if nothing else OBLIGATED to interview Kiffin goes after the obvious candidate but lets him know that, unlike prior stops, his behaviors do not comport themselves to the expectations of the University of Florida and so there would be curbs and guardrails around the job. Kiffin wants to be his own man, post bare-chested hot yoga pics with coeds, etc. Stricklin has created an offer that limits or allows UF to pull Kiffin back from such things if they reflect poorly on UF, the institution of higher learning that it is. Kiffin wanted the job at UF so very much he thought long and hard about it, and kept asking for things to make the job more to his liking. It seems Stricklin & Co accommodated some of those but ultimately drew a line and said "Beyond here we cannot go."

People on this site are, seemingly, only thinking of Lane Kiffin on the sidelines, in a headset. That's important, for sure, but UF has been tarred with smirch splashed up in the immediate prior heyday with Urban Meyer and is bound and determined not to allow that to ever happen again. LSU has no reputation to consider other than for being batshit crazy. So they told Lane "Whatever it takes, baby!" UF, in the person of Scott Stricklin, would not and/or could not do that.

 

I agree. It was never going to work and SS made sure to convey that in the initial interview, IMO. LSU gave Kiffin a "blank check" and is trying to fit in the mold of the LegHumpers and Gumps: ANYTHING for wins!

Look back at Kiffin's history and with the exception of FAU you see programs that were willing to "sell their souls" for wins.

I had hoped Kiffin matured enough to be able to operate within guardrails established by his employer. We all have to . . . unless we own the business . . . and then still have to operate within guardrails. He apparently has not. He wants a blank check.

I would not support Florida turning over its major revenue producing sport to Kiffin as that blank check.

In my mind, that does not excuse Strychnine's behavior as those are different things, I've said enough about him though and will stop beating the dead horse.

No recruit, player or coach is bigger than the program, yet Kiffin apparently feels HE is bigger than whatever program he serves. He apparently feels he IS the program.

 

Everyone here should read every word of this. Thanks, ET.