How a challenge from his son has kept Lane Kiffin off social media for months
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Lane Kiffin has long been known for his active social media presence throughout his coaching career.
Don't expect much of that this season.
The LSU football coach confirmed at SEC Media Days on Thursday, July 23, that he's off social media — a challenge he got from his son, Knox. The change was notable enough that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey joked to reporters he wanted to thank the LSU coach's son.
"Last year, I introduced Lane by talking about his prolific social media activity. As of this morning, Lane has been off social media since May 11. I'm told, he gave it up because of a challenge from his son, Knox," Sankey said Thursday as he was introducing Kiffin. "Thus, my suggestion that someone give Knox a hug for me, who told his dad you spend too much time on social media."
Indeed, Lane Kiffin's most recent post on X — formerly Twitter — is dated June 18, and seemingly commemorates his last post on social media. The post features the date of May 11, 2026, as well as a picture of Michael Jordan with the phrase, "time to go ghost."
5/11/26 pic.twitter.com/dPABjcSAxg
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) June 18, 2026
How did Kiffin's son challenge him and — more importantly — succeed?
"Knox was like, 'Dad, there's no way you could get off social media," Kiffin said. "And if you know me, that's the best thing to do. My kids have learned that, too. If they really want something, say I can't do it, and I'm going to do it. So I'm like (to Knox), 'Oh, I bet I can.'"
Kiffin, the first football coach in history to lead three different SEC programs, said it wasn't really "a plan" for him to stay off of social media for this long. It has since turned into addition by subtraction for his life.
"I got off all of it, and then it was still on there, and then I said, 'OK, I'm gonna go to another level,' and I just deleted the apps," Kiffin continued. "It wasn't a long-term plan and it was really interesting to see as I went through it because Knox pushing me to do that allowed me to help other players, friends, coaches, to say, 'Man, you should try this sometime' because once you remove something from your life, you're starting to realize how many other people are addicted to it or need it."
Kiffin said stepping away from social media has made him "more present" and kept him from constantly comparing aspects of his life with what he sees on social media.
"What I realized, and what I talked to people about now, is if you're not on anything, you don't see anything all day, you don't compare. Because now social media does what? You sit there all day long and you start to compare your job, the city you live in, your vacation, your kids, your clothes, your car and your significant other," Kiffin said.
"When you don't see that all day, you're free of that comparison. It’s been an interesting study. … So I appreciate Knox challenging me on that."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How a challenge from his son has kept Lane Kiffin off social media for months
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