Lane Kiffin on Ed Orgeron and LSU: 'That just shows you where we're at'

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin isn’t privy to conversations that happened between Ed Orgeron and LSU, but he knows one thing: the Tigers lost a good coach. Kiffin said Monday he was shocked to hear the news that Orgeron and LSU had mutually agreed to part ways.

In particular, he was surprised that it came on the heels of a 49-42 victory against the Florida Gators in Week 7.

“I don’t know the details of everything that went on,” Kiffin said. “Obviously he did a great job there winning a national championship. So I’m not really sure what happened here as of late. It’s crazy. They just beat a really good Florida team and I’m sure not a lot of people gave them a chance after the Kentucky game. It shows that they have great players and can play really well. They did that.”

Since winning the national title in 2019, Orgeron owns a 9-8 record. He is still an impressive 49-17 overall since taking over LSU in 2016. That includes a win in the Fiesta Bowl during the 2018 season. Amidst rumors, the coach defended his job status in a press conference last week, getting into a heated exchange with one reporter.

“Are you trying to get another quote from me?” Orgeron asked when pressed about details on his job security.

“I’m just trying to do my job,” the reporter replied back.

“Good,” the coach said with a sly smile. “We’ll I’m gonna do mine. I’m handling it great. I said that before.”

In that same press conference, Orgeron also claimed that he had not had any discussions regarding his job. Kiffin said Monday that the news that the coach is out at LSU is yet another example of how today’s coaching climate is more volatile than it’s ever been.

“It’s the profession we’ve always been in but now more than ever its not, ‘What have you done last year?'” Kiffin said. “Literally it’s, ‘What have you done Saturday?’ I just had this conversation with another head coach who’s struggling a little bit. I said, ‘Every Sunday you’re either a good or bad coach based off of that Saturday.’ When I see a thing on SEC Network when I walk by and someone’s talking bad about (Nick) Saban after the A&M game as a coach, that just shows you where we’re at.”

Kiffin himself has been a victim of that same mentality. The coach was fired from USC midseason in 2013 following a blowout loss to Arizona State. He then spent a couple years at Alabama before re-entering the head coaching ranks at Florida Atlantic in 2017.

Unlike Ed Orgeron, Lane Kiffin had to leave immediately and did not get to finish out the year as coach.

Orgeron and LSU agreed to a six-year contract worth nearly $6 million per year in 2020. That ranks as the second-highest in college football behind Alabama coach Nick Saban’s deal. USA Today estimated that the buyout for Orgeron could cost the school more than $17 million if he is fired on Dec. 1.