By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Lane Kiffin has been LSU’s football coach since Nov. 30, 2025, and he had done zero one-on-one interviews nationally or locally.
There were several press conferences and speaking engagements and a television interview during LSU’s appearance in the third tier Texas Bowl on Dec. 27 with a very cool leather jacket worthy of a Gentlemen’s Quarterly cover.
But no one-on-ones. Until now.
Kiffin is the current cover boy of the iconic Vanity Fair magazine of pop culture, fashion, current affairs and some of the best magazine journalism there is with the likes of writer and author Bryan Burrough, among others.
LANE KIFFIN VANITY FAIR FEATURE STORY
Writer Chris Smith interviewed Kiffin in his office with photographer Craig Mulcahy taking somewhat provocative photos that you won’t see in Sports Illustrated.
The headline is an attention grabber – “That’s Him In The Spotlight: How Lane Kiffin Eagerly Became The Most Polarizing Coach in College Football.”
The package also says he is the “the most controversial and among the most fiercely hated coaches in college football.”
Shocking to self-absorbed Ole Miss, yes. And that was NCAA calendar related as well. Other coaches did same thing last year to playoff teams at the same time.
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) May 11, 2026
I would disagree with that. He’s definitely the most unique and quirky coach in the game, but not the most controversial. He had one of the more controversial job switches, but not nearly as such as Nick Saban leaving the Miami Dolphins for Alabama after the 2006 season after lying that he was not going to Alabama. Kiffin never said he was staying at Ole Miss or that he was leaving.
It’s over. Lane Kiffin is LSU’s next football coach. Press conference introducing him set for Monday at LSU.https://t.co/kTRsVE78Of
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) November 30, 2025
“Most hated” are strong words, too. Kiffin is definitely the most hated coach in the world among Ole Miss fans, which is not that big of a world. It’s also a naive world. Most people with a brain knew Kiffin was not going to stay at Ole Miss for the rest of his career or for 10 years. He stayed there for six. That’s a long time in the NFL and college football coaching professions.
Hated coaches are usually coaches who win big and consistently, particularly against certain coaches. LSU fans, for example, hated Nick Saban because he beat them almost all the time as Alabama’s coach. They also hated Steve Spurrier because he beat them every time but once as Florida’s coach. Auburn fans hated Saban for the same reason. Tennessee and Florida State fans hated Spurrier for the same reason. Kiffin has not won nearly as big as Saban or Spurrier yet, so he doesn’t deserve the hate and doesn’t have it universally yet as those two did.
And Kiffin is not unique in his job switching. It’s just unique to Ole Miss, because it has rarely had a football coach that another school wanted. In fact, Ole Miss has rarely had football coaches that it wanted for very long since Johnny Vaught (1947-70).
The feature is highly entertaining and reveals some new information. Kiffin’s mom Robin nicknamed him “Helicopter” as a kid, because he was always jumping from room to room causing chaos. Like so many college coaching jobs, right?
The story clearly captures the very interesting and enigmatic Kiffin.
“After four hours of talking with Kiffin, I’m stumped,” Smith writes. “Is he endearingly sincere or so full of shit that it’s an art form?”
And he quotes Southeastern Conference talk show icon Paul Finebaum, who has usually not been a fan of Kiffin, making it clear this is no puff piece.
“Lane Kiffin is an introvert, and he’s a drama queen,” Finebaum accurately says. “He’s sincere, and he doesn’t get enough credit for his acting ability. It’s what makes him fascinating, and it’s what makes him the most polarizing coach in college football.”
Smith and Kiffin don’t avoid Kiffin’s drinking issues of the past.
“A drinking problem, Kiffin says candidly, also marred his early years in coaching,” Smith writes. “He’d started out pounding beers before developing a taste for vodka. The booze also damaged his marriage; Kiffin and his wife, Layla, divorced in 2016.”
Kiffin says, “My whole drive when I was younger was like, ‘How fast can I get everything? How fast can I get the big job? The big contract?’ As I’ve gotten older (51), I’ve tried to work on that, making decisions that are more delayed gratification. I got tired of digging out of hangovers, tired of digging out of situations or things I said.”
The story says Kiffin gave up alcohol in January of 2021, which was his second year at Ole Miss.
“He became an evangelist for hot yoga and dropped about 45 pounds,” Smith writes. “He took up journaling and shared an entry with ESPN an excerpt from from Alcoholics Anonymous. ‘Ego was being replaced with self-respect, resentment and hatred were being replaced with tolerance and understanding.'”
Kiffin also explains why he doesn’t think Ole Miss fans should be that upset about him leaving, which most successful coaches do.
“Did you make the university tons of money? Are out-of-state applications way up? Did the city make tons of money – businesses, real estate? I mean, this is not a normal big city. This is Oxford, Mississippi,” he said. “No coach I talked to at any point ever said, ‘Stay there.’ They said, ‘You got one life. People do it all the time. Players and free agency, coaches, magazines—people change. It’s your story.’ That’s why I did it, because, I’m like, ‘Man, it’s my story.’ And I choose for this to be the next chapter.”
Kiffin also drew a distinction for Smith between Baton Rouge and Oxford that will make Ole Miss fans continue their slow burn of hate with some jealousy.
“When he was coaching there, Kiffin says, top recruits would tell him, ‘Hey, coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi,’” Smith writes.
Kiffin is then quoted. “That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” he says. “Parents were sitting here this weekend saying the campus diversity feels so great. ‘It feels like there’s no segregation. And we want that for our kid because that’s the real world.’”
Kiffin added later to Smith, “I just hope (the above comment) comes across respectful to Ole Miss. There are some things that I’m saying that are factual. They’re not shots.”
Respectful? Really, Lane?
In discussing the hate Ole Miss fans feel for their coach leaving for their rival, Kiffin made a comparison very similar to those made by this writer and others in 2007 when Saban went to Alabama two years after leaving LSU. After all, Alabama has long been LSU’s daddy in football for most of history, much like LSU has long been Ole Miss’ daddy for most of history.
“I don’t know if I should make this analogy,” Kiffin says. “The fans are like, ‘It’s a breakup, and he goes to the girl we know, who’s considered by everyone outside the state to be a better girl. Now you’re going back to, like, a big family reunion (on Sept. 19 when LSU plays at Ole Miss), with a new girl.’”
And Smith wraps with, “The spectacle will be great for TV ratings. The Lane Kiffin Show is never dull.”
Be the first to comment