Lane Kiffin Didn't Abandon Ole Miss, the College Football Calendar Did
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
I’m going to lose my mind.
This isn’t about Lane Kiffin. It’s not about Ole Miss, or LSU, or any school looking for a head coach. It’s not even about players or logos, winning or losing.
It’s about a sport that schedules, arguably, its two most important “staffing” events – Early Signing Day (Dec. 3) and the Transfer Portal window (Jan. 2-16) – before its playoff.
I recognize this shiny product (playoff) is new, but this is basic professional calendar management. And looking deeper, it’s about too many cooks.
FIX … the COLLEGE FOOTBALL … CALENDAR.
First, the facts. Coaches are employees – CEOs if you want, but still employees – working inside a billion-dollar industry. And, like any employee in any industry, it’s in their best interest to secure their next job before their current one is technically over.
Even more so when missing key windows that determine their future success can set them back a full year – like the portal or signing day
So no, this isn't some morality play about loyalty. It’s a business. It always has been, it’s just now there’s more money/attention.
I don’t understand what you want from this employee. You want him to hide his intent to take a job he considers better and surreptitiously coach out his current job’s playoff run?
That means lying to the 17-year-old recruits and their families this Wednesday – you’re morally good with that?
You want him to tell everyone his intentions, but ask to coach the team? He did that. How’d that work?
It appears you want him to simply NOT take a job that he’s decided is better for his and his family’s future – maybe much better/secure – because you don’t think it is? Or, you think another one might come up in the future? Awfully mighty of you.
While we’re here, please stop comparing this to the NFL. That league – another billion-dollar industry – has a single commissioner who oversees everything.
The Steelers can’t call the Rams about their head coach during the season. Period. And that’s just the beginning.
That discipline doesn’t exist in college football, and never has.
Maybe early on, discipline didn’t matter because there wasn’t enough money at stake. But more likely, it’s because college football is run by regional parochialism and fragmented authority: a dozen or so commissioners serving 130+ owners (universities), each with their own CEO (head coach).
The result? Chaos. And with more money comes even greater intensity, passion, and anger.
What’s most frustrating for me is that people are still mad at Kiffin for “abandoning” his team, when the now obvious truth is he didn’t want to. He wanted to coach Ole Miss through the playoff. LSU was apparently even willing to wait.
LSU and Lane were willing to accept the considerable recruiting setback to let him finish what he started in Oxford. And Ole Miss said no.
Which, okay – that’s their right. But that’s OLE MISS’S CHOICE. And let’s be frank: if you haven’t been relevant at this level in your industry for 60 years, and your CEO wants to finish what could be a once-in-a-generation run, maybe you plug your nose and say yes.
Maybe you prioritize the chance at a trophy now instead of cutting off your nose to spite your face. I note, by the way, that Lane’s got even more time/focus to “poach” players now.
Still mad at Lane? Let me spell it out for you.
Imagine you work at ABC. Maybe you like it. Maybe you don’t. It’s immaterial to our argument. Then NBC calls. For whatever reason, YOU perceive it’s a better job. Bigger budget, better time slot, more support staff – it’s immaterial. YOU think it’s a better job and your contract is such that you can go. We'll then, you go.
I'm not saying there won't be hurt feelings & trauma. And you might take a producer and some writers with you, and others may be left behind. But you don't owe ABC anything. It doesn’t mean you hate ABC, it means you perceived a better opportunity. That’s not betrayal. That’s employment.
Because to Lane, and to every other coach, these schools aren’t sacred institutions. They’re NBC. Or Procter & Gamble. Or any other employer. Coaches didn’t grow up going to State U. They don’t have nostalgic memories of the local freshman bar. They don’t already own 12 State hats and 9 State t-shirts … not until the day they’re hired.
For them, it’s not simply about this season; unless a coach is in his seventies, it’s about building for the next 3-5 years. It’s about keeping a job for as long as possible in a profession where getting fired is almost inevitable.
Which program is best positioned to navigate the new NIL realities? Revenue sharing? Recruiting? Whatever this next era of college football looks like once the dust settles?
Because once it does, it’s likely the traditional powers – the blue bloods of our industry – will have the edge again. Not Ole Miss. Not Texas Tech. Not even SMU, though the Mustangs might be a unique case (and a column for another day).
And professionals … employees … are doing what they perceive is right for their employment future. Just like lawyers who leave law firms and take their clients or staff. Or any other CEO in any other industry.
So no, LSU isn’t wrong for asking Lane to be their coach. Ole Miss isn’t necessarily wrong for saying no, Lane, you can’t continue to coach if you’re leaving.
And Kiffin isn’t wrong for asking to finish coaching the season, even if he’s identified what he believes is a better opportunity. Ultimately, it’s a business.
But hey, you still want to make this a little easier? Great.
Fix. The. Calendar.
Russ Mitchell is a Heisman voter, regular guest on national and local tv/radio, and columnist for College Football News. You can reach him at @RussMitchellCFB
This story was originally published by College Football News on Dec 2, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos