The situation with Lane Kiffin is slowly reaching a conclusion, with the Ole Miss coach set to make an announcement about his future on Nov. 29. Kiffin, who is being wooed by LSU with a multi-million dollar contract, would be the biggest domino to fall in an already busy college football coaching carousel.
On ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday, Nick Saban did not hold back when speaking about the situation. But while some might point to Kiffin, Saban said that the drama points to wider issues in college sports.
“Everybody should be thinking about the student-athletes, what’s best for the student-athletes. A player should be able to play for his coach for the entire season. Players shouldn’t be penalized if a coach leaves,” Saban said. “If a player or coach doesn’t participate, [the College Football Playoff committee] can sink you in the rankings.
“None of this is fair to the players,” he continued. “This is not a Lane Kiffin conundrum. This is a college football conundrum that we need some leadership to step up and change the rules on how this gets done in terms of coaching searches and opportunity for people to leave.”
It’s worth noting that Saban and Kiffin share an agent, Jimmy Sexton. But much of Saban’s critiques came with the college football calendar, and the fact that departures do not have as much structure as the NFL. The former Alabama coach proposed a college football calendar that matches better with the academic calendar, with practices in the summer instead of the spring.
“We need to take a better approach to the business aspect of what we do in college athletics,” Saban said. “In the NFL, you cannot leave your team until you’re finished playing. You can’t talk to another coach in the regular season. There’s a defined time where you can talk to them if they’re in the playoffs. That’s the way it should be.”
Ole Miss is currently 10-1, with the No. 6 Rebels’ only loss coming to No. 4 Georgia. Their SEC record is 6-1 — on track to tie or beat their best conference record in decades. Ole Miss sits third in the conference, below Georgia and undefeated Texas A&M.
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Just about the only thing left between the Rebels and a CFP spot is a win against Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Nov. 28 — and given that the Bulldogs are unranked and sitting at 5-6, a win seems likely.
But right after that game, Ole Miss players might end up losing their coach, leaving that CFP future in doubt. Saban said he doesn’t think that’s a fair draw.
“If you went to the Ole Miss players, they would say, ‘I want my coach to coach ’til the season’s over. We’ve got a chance to go to the playoffs, when’s the next time we’re gonna have a chance to go to the playoffs?'” Saban said. “So that’s the way it should be regardless of what Lane decides to do.”
