Lane Kiffin bonds with Pat McAfee on College Gameday: 'We’re about the two most hated people there are'

Lane Kiffin bonds with Pat McAfee on College Gameday: 'We’re about the two most hated people there are'

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Lane Kiffin bonds with Pat McAfee on College Gameday: 'We’re about the two most hated people there are'
Lane Kiffin

Lane Kiffin bonds with Pat McAfee on College Gameday: 'We’re about the two most hated people there are' originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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LSU enters Week 1 as the villains of college football, in large part due to hiring Lane Kiffin as its new head coach.

Kiffin joined the Tigers in controversial fashion last year, when he left Ole Miss before the College Football Playoff and passed up a postseason run. His controversy has only continued over the summer, as Kiffin has tried to recruit pro players back to the college game in recent weeks.

As LSU hosts Clemson on Saturday night, Baton Rouge was an obvious choice for College Gameday this week, bringing Pat McAfee and company on campus. When Kiffin made his expected appearance on the show, he he had some words to say to McAfee about how the two are currently perceived nationally.

Here's a look at Kiffin's College Gameday appearance.

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Lane Kiffin College Gameday appearance

Kiffin made a lengthy appearance on College Gameday, which travelled to Baton Rouge for Week 1 of the regular season. Pat McAfee opened the interview by simply thanking Kiffin for providing his daily sports talk show with content.

McAfee also asked Kiffin specifically about what it's been like to be targeted over his controversial decisions, at which point the LSU head coach bonded with McAfee directly.

"That's why I've really appreciated our friendship and this week, your guidance with me about, because between you and I, we're about the two most hated people there are," Kiffin told McAfee. "You told me, 'Hey, just focus on it, don't worry about the noise'. A lot of times, to do great things, you're going to be hated,"

McAfee's ascent at ESPN has put him directly in the spotlight, while Kiffin's decision to spurn Ole Miss for LSU has only created more angst towards him. The two personalities have, apparently, been able to use each other as sounding boards over the past year.

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Why do people hate Lane Kiffin?

Kiffin has become one of the most hated figures in college football for a variety of reasons. The veteran coach has not been afraid to burn bridges on his way out of jobs, beginning when he was fired as the Oakland Raiders head coach after a sour relationship with Al Davis.

In 2009, Kiffin left Tennessee after just one season as head coach to take the same position at USC, which infuriated Volunteers fans. Then, in 2013, USC fired Kiffin midseason after after an underwhelming season prior, ending another tumultuous head coaching tenure.

Kiffin remade his image a bit at Alabama from 2014-16 before returning to the coaching ranks at FAU. He became the Ole Miss head coach in 2020, but once again burned bridges on his way out of Oxford to go to LSU, reminding many fans of his earlier career decisions.

Kiffin's polarizing personality an willingness to burn those bridges make him the least-liked head coach in the country this year.

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