TAMPA, Fla. (AP) 鈥� One notable backer of the 鈥淟ane Kiffin Rule” winding its way through Congress turns out to be Lane Kiffin himself.
Though naming it after him was not considered a compliment, Kiffin said he can see some value in the that would fix the longstanding problem of college coaches bailing on their teams while the season is still going.
The took his turn Thursday at SEC Media Days, where he ate up more than 16 of his 25 minutes behind the mic delivering an opening statement that included the revelation that he’s given up social media.
That left time for four questions, the last of which was whether he felt he got a bad rap for his much-discussed and widely criticized move from Mississippi to LSU at the end of last season. That transaction turned him into a pariah in some places and, in Washington at least, the namesake for the part of the Protect College Sports Act that would forbid in-season coaching moves from school to school.
Without getting into what people thought of him, he said he did think the rule could be helpful.
鈥淚 guess (so), in that I hope that some way for future coaches, they鈥檙e not put in that situation,鈥� Kiffin said. 鈥淚n the NFL, you鈥檙e never put in that situation because of the calendar and because of the rules of movement within seasons. I do hope for future people, that鈥檚 fixed so that you鈥檙e not in that same predicament.鈥�
Kiffin gives mea culpa for diversity statement in Vanity Fair story
There were other moments of introspection during the 51-year-old coach鈥檚 time with media in the most-anticipated news conference over four days of collecting preview material for a season that starts Sept. 3.
Kiffin, clearly prepared for the question, repeated earlier mea culpas when he conceded the headline-grabbing snippet from a Vanity Fair interview earlier this year 鈥� in which he said recruiting players to Oxford was more difficult than to Baton Rouge because there was a more diverse and less segregated feeling at LSU 鈥� was a mistake.
“I made a challenging decision and change,” Kiffin explained. 鈥淚 think as I look back to that, I thought I could find a way for everybody to understand. Now as I look back later on, that was never going to happen.鈥�
While Kiffin’s replacement at Ole Miss, a day earlier, calling his old boss 鈥渢he ex鈥� who never really goes away, Kiffin was interesting in a different, potentially more-scripted way.
In reflecting on the Vanity Fair interview, he noted how life is short and that he grew up with the notion that his dad and wrestler Hulk Hogan were the only people who would never die. Monte Kiffin, the football lifer coach whose reputation was cemented during his dozen years coaching defense in Tampa for the Buccaneers, died two summers ago. Hogan passed away a year ago Friday.
鈥淚t just made me reflect on, I can鈥檛 be so concerned about little things and what people say,鈥� Kiffin said. 鈥淵ou’ve got to make decisions; you’ve got to go with them. You make really good decisions, and you make poor decisions. That was a poor usage of a term that I believe, just like many coaches that have been there before, was factual. But over the course of a long interview, was bad timing and bad usage of the word.”
A social media cleanse leads to a new perspective
Kiffin also spent time discussing about how his son, Knox, urged him to get off social media, which he did in May, only to see a whole new world open up.
鈥淜nox pushing me to do that, challenging me, 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 start to realize how many other people are addicted to it or need it,’鈥� Kiffin said.
Turns out, now is a great time for the coach to have quit social media.
Kiffin’s flirtation with LSU and eventual decision to leave Ole Miss to sign a seven-year, $91 million contract with its rival upended the end of last regular season. The disruption included debates about Mississippi’s prospects in the College Football Playoffs and whether the Rebels would be viewed, or seeded, differently coming into the postseason without their head coach.
The Kiffin move also picked at a decades-old scab that practically defines college sports: Why is it OK for coaches to do whatever they want and make millions while the players have guardrails around their every move?
Paying players helped resolve some, but not all, of that. Players also got something of a break with a recent change that gives those participating in the playoff a few extra days to decide to stay or go into the transfer portal.
Kiffin insisted that in the wake of his social-media cleanse, he’s been so disconnected from the news of the day, or the moment, that he really wasn’t aware of the rule named after him in Congress until being asked about it in the news conference.
He said it’s good to see some changes that benefit players.
鈥淗opefully,” he said, 鈥渋n some way, they fix it for coaches, too.鈥�
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up . AP college football: and
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
