Somehow, some way, yes… the Red Cup staff got an advance screening of the Lane Kiffin documentary set to debut Wednesday night.
The goal of the documentary it seems on its face is to get the inside story of Kiffin’s journey as a coach from the early years to his now prominent role in Oxford in year six as the Ole Miss head coach. Why he got into coaching, his tumultuous early coaching roles, an evolution from a reality check at Florida Atlantic, and of course all of the hot yoga – the 50-year-old Kiffin gets the history of his life thus far pieced together in just under an hour of content.
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For Ole Miss fans, it is one hundred percent must see TV at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday on ESPN – record it and watch it again. If you’re a college football fan, this documentary will possibly change your view currently on Kiffin. There is the long standing idea that he leaves jobs quickly and is not a loyal leader, and maybe that is fair for one fanbase in east Tennessee. The documentary doesn’t necessarily help this narrative as it pops a graphic throughout with job number 5, 6, 7, etc. Look, let’s be honest here – MANY coaches have several jobs in the pursuit to be a head coach in the SEC, tacking that on Kiffin as a negative has gotten silly.
From watching Kiffin’s side of his own story, the early years of his career he was a bit of a victim of naivete from organizations leaders misleading or outright lying to him. Al Davis promising him the Oakland Raiders were his team and his choices to make for example or USC suggesting the Reggie Bush recruiting violations would not be significant. Those two stories plus the departure from Rocky Top are detailed and pull back the curtain on what Kiffin experienced.
Interviews with ESPN college football reporter Chris Low, Bill Plaschke, Paul Finebaum, and of course the legend Nick Saban help add some context other than what Kiffin has to say. The big wake up call and start of Kiffin’s evolution does seem to be in his time in Tuscaloosa, and he and Saban really seemed to butt heads in an “oil and water” type of relationship different from his other jobs.
Ultimately, his arrival in Oxford changed everything for the sixth year head coach. A slower pace of life, an abstinence from alcohol, and recentering who he wants to be as a coach and father was the landing place for Kiffin at Ole Miss.
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There’s no doubt the entire SEC will watch this, rolling their eyes at times, laughing at times, and maybe gaining some insight into how the insane fans of our conference really put these coaches through heaven or hell on earth based on how they get their jobs done.
Tune in Wednesday night at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN to see “The Many Lives of Lane Kiffin” – undoubtedly, the annual MOST talked about coach in the SEC.
