Lane Kiffin inadvertently implies a massive conflict of interest with ESPN while his contract carries a rare $1 million clause

LSU introduced Lane Kiffin as the new head coach of its football program.

Though he’s quickly getting comfortable in his new digs, in true Kiffin fashion, his words have already started stirring controversy.

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In his opening press conference, Kiffin detailed his decision to leave an 11-1 Ole Miss team headed for the College Football Playoff to take the LSU job, noting he received guidance from several prominent figures in his life, including former boss Nick Saban.

“Coach Saban kind of coached at another place in this conference, so I can’t… really say exactly what he said,” Kiffin began.

“But, I’ll say I think the world of Coach Saban, and I respect him, and so there’s a reason why I’m here.”

Kiffin appeared to imply that Saban encouraged his move from Ole Miss to LSU, noting on Sunday that multiple “mentors” had guided him toward the opportunity.

This would, of course, create a Louisiana-sized conflict of interest between Saban and his employer, ESPN, where the six-time national champion head coach serves as an analyst on College GameDay.

Saban has publicly defended Kiffin on numerous occasions, calling for Ole Miss to let him coach through the postseason, even as it has now been revealed that he may have been encouraging Kiffin to take the LSU job.

Sure, it’s not a crime, but it’s not exactly good optics either.

Saban used his platform on the sport’s most popular show to deliver a two-minute rant absolving Kiffin of all blame, insisting that the college football calendar bears the real responsibility and needs to be fixed.

“This is not a Lane Kiffin conundrum,” Saban said. “This is a college football conundrum, and we need some leadership to step up and change the rules.”

And that was before it became clear that Saban was quietly pushing Kiffin behind the scenes, while publicly smoothing the narrative on television.

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Oh, and another small detail: they share the same agent, Jimmy Sexton.

Stewart Mandel of The Athletic captured the situation perfectly.

“If you didn’t pick up on the “read between the lines” here: Clearly, Saban told Kiffin he should take LSU. While also going on TV and urging Ole Miss to let him coach in the Playoff,” Mandel wrote on X.

Amanda Christovich of Front Office Sports contacted ESPN for a statement on the matter, but the network declined to comment.

Wherever Kiffin goes, chaos follows. Less than a week into his LSU tenure, he’s already touched off a minor controversy, because of course he has.

LSU, meanwhile, added a notable and unusual clause to the contract of its new head coach.

talkSPORT reacts...Lane Kiffin is no victim

Let’s be clear: Lane Kiffin is no victim, no matter how much he is trying to convince everyone that he is. Kiffin wanted to have his cake and eat it too.

He chose to leave Ole Miss for LSU, jumping ship to a bitter rival. Yet he’s taken shots at the administration at Ole Miss for not letting him coach his former team in the playoff and to let him finish the season in Oxford.

Sorry, Lane—that’s not how it works. You made the choice to leave, and your actions have consequences.

Of course Ole Miss was never going to let him coach in the postseason knowing he would be gone a month later. That would have been insane.

Take your $90 million to Baton Rouge and stop whining.

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Kiffin’s contract includes bonuses tied to Ole Miss’s College Football Playoff success, meaning the Tigers will pay him what he would have earned had he stayed with the Rebels.

The further Ole Miss advances, the more LSU will owe Kiffin, including a $1 million bonus if the Rebels win the national championship.

It’s Lane Kiffin’s world, and we’re all just living in it.