Lane Kiffin Explains His 'No Social Media' Policy Ahead of LSU Season
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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Lane Kiffin is heading into his first season as the new head coach of the LSU Tigers with high expectations, and is fully focused on performing the job they hired him to.
With SEC Media Days underway, Kiffin explained his new policy on social media, which he learned from a former mentor who he compared to a father figure.
"I think sometimes I've said this before, in parenting, you know you don't understand your dad at the time, and then later on you come back and go, 'Oh, man, he was onto something,'" Kiffin explained.
"Now I've realized that Coach had it all figured out. That's why he's the greatest of all time and all the National Championships ... He wasted no time what? On social media," Kiffin said with Nick Saban seated nearby while on the SEC Network.
"Now I'm sitting here trying to preach, 'Man, if you get off social media, you'll be so much more focused. You'll be a better coach. You'll be present," he added. "He's probably sitting back like, 'Hey, no [expletive], I was trying to tell you that.'"
Kiffin won three National Championships while on other schools' coaching staffs. In 2003 and 2004, he was an assistant and coordinator under Pete Carroll at USC when they won back-to-back BCS titles. More recently, Kiffin was an offensive coordinator on Saban's staff at Alabama when they won the CFP in 2015.
That mentorship clearly made an impact on Kiffin, who became highly sought after as the next coach for LSU last season. Saban has remained out of the coaching circle, choosing to stay retired as a coach and focus more on working as an analyst and podcast co-host.
Kiffin took the LSU coaching job just as his team at the time, the Ole Miss Rebels, was contending for the College Football Playoffs. With Kiffin departing, it created all sorts of upheaval and drama about how the team would operate, with Kiffin also taking some of his staff to LSU.
Some of those staff, particularly the offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis Jr., were able to return and run the offense through the CFP before officially leaving LSU.
Defensive coordinator Pete Golding took over as head coach admirably, coaching the Rebels to the semifinals, where they lost to Miami in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. He became the team's permanent coach and will guide them through the SEC this upcoming season, which will include a meeting with Kiffin's new team.
Most likely, Golding learned a thing or two from Kiffin during his time working with him, so it will be interesting to see who wins their anticipated matchup. Their two teams meet in a nationally televised game on ABC, the Magnolia Bowl, on Saturday, Sept. 19.
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