SEC Network analyst offers advice to Lane Kiffin amid coaching carousel rumors
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
The Lane Kiffin to Florida rumors aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Neither are the Lane Kiffin to LSU rumors.
Kiffin, on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday, denied that Ole Miss had given him until the Egg Bowl to decide if he’s staying in Oxford or headed to a new — and more lucrative — gig, whether that’s in Gainesville or Baton Rouge. What he didn’t do, or hasn’t yet done, is give an undisputable “thanks, but no thanks” statement to either Florida or LSU officials.
That’s even amid Kiffin’s posts on X about “the good ol’ days” being right now for the Rebels, who are nearing a first-ever College Football Playoff berth. Peter Burns, though, thinks the best route of action for him is to not post at all.
“Log off. Like, go move in silence and handle your business, whether it’s going to be at LSU, or going to be at Florida, or going to be at Ole Miss,” Burns said Tuesday on his “SEC This Morning” show he co-hosts with Chris Doering on SiriusXM and the SEC Network. “The Ole Miss fan base, the players, man, they want you to be locked in.”
That approach runs counter to what people are used to from Kiffin, arguably the most active social media user among college football coaches. Burns, though, noted that several Ole Miss fans — and others “close” to the program — had called and texted him “upset” about the tone of Kiffin’s posts amid the rumors.
“I think it’s mostly the social media thing,” Burns said. “This is not new. I think people have been around it, like, ‘Hey, coaches are going to interview.’ But I think it’s more of Lane keeps pumping out social media stuff, like, ‘I love Ole Miss. Ole Miss is great.'”
“Business as usual for Lane Kiffin is tweeting,” Doering countered.
“I think he thrives on some type of chaos and fun. Some people work better that way,” Burns replied.
It remains to be seen what the resolution of this saga ends up being. Kiffin will get a pay raise regardless. Whether it’s at his current employer or at another program is another story.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
