$123 million coach attacks Lane Kiffin over decision affecting players

Jimbo Fisher isn’t a fan of how Lane Kiffin has handled his departure from Ole Miss to LSU, particularly his decision on whether his assistant coaches would be allowed to continue coaching with the Rebels.

As Ole Miss and Miami faced off in the Fiesta Bowl with a spot in the CFP championship on the line, the Rebels did so with limited continuity on the sideline.

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Only two LSU assistants remained on loan for the game: offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and running backs coach Kevin Smith.

Appearing on ACC Network, former Florida State and Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher unloaded on Kiffin for not letting more of the former Ole Miss assistants help the Rebels finish the job.

“It’s selfish,” Fisher bluntly put.

“That’s what it is. It’s stupid. And because here’s why I say that. He wanted to coach [Ole Miss] and thought he didn’t get his way. ‘Everybody get on the plane with me, or you don’t have a job.’ All right? And he makes them all go.

“Then he gets down there and takes a P.R. hit, because it looks bad that you really don’t care about the kids. Then he says, ‘Okay, you can go back.’

“But here’s where he screwed up. He thought they were gonna lose to Georgia. The portal thing was all over with, and it was going to be all over with. He said, ‘I’ll look like a hero.’ Now, he’s got egg on his face because the real Lane came back out.

“You know what I’m saying? And if those guys were allowed to coach a first game, they should be allowed to coach — because those kids are doing something that you get one time in your life to do. That team. And those guys. One time. And as a coach?

“Listen, I know, I’ve left a job, I get that. But if you took them on and said they’re never coming back, that’s fine. You set the rules of the game. You don’t change the rules in the middle of the game. And as a coach, it’s hurting the kids and it pisses me off.”

Fisher has a point.

If former Ole Miss assistants were going to be made available during the playoff run, there was little justification for limiting their availability to only part of it.

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The episode is yet another illustration of the disorder college football’s power brokers have allowed to fester.

The responsibility rests squarely with them, and no amount of finger-pointing will change that. If the mess is going to be cleaned up, it’s their job to do it.

Fisher, who has made nearly $123 million and counting from Texas A&M, understands the inner workings of college football — and especially how the SEC operates.

He left Florida State in December 2017 to become Texas A&M’s head coach, but at the time it might as well have been an entirely different game. There was no NIL, no transfer portal.

Of course, Fisher stayed on top of everything, having only recently stepped away from coaching and with the possibility of returning.

He was fired after 10 games in the 2023 season, with his contract bought out for $77.5 million — the largest buyout in college football history.