Lane Kiffin jokes about removing Jimbo Fisher from SEC coaches group chat, jabs Brian Kelly, Kirby Smart

One of the biggest questions SEC coaches face isn’t necessarily about what happens on the field. Instead, it’s what happens in the now-legendary group chat.

Lane Kiffin has confirmed the group’s existence as coaches around the league keep in contact. As for his role, though, he sees himself more of the glue holding it all together as he, Brian Kelly, Kirby Smart and others go back and forth.

With a group chat, though, there’s also the possibility for removal. Kiffin understands that power, especially considering he’s in multiple messages, and has used it before. When that times comes – and the Ole Miss coach joked Jimbo Fisher was removed at one point – the other coaches seem surprised he can do it.

“I have multiple ones, so sometimes, I’ll say something that guy’s not in it and this guy’s in it. I kind of make sure I know who’s in them when I say certain things,” Kiffin said on This Past Weekend with Theo Von. “Every once in a while, I’ve got someone who does something, and I move them out of the chat. It’s happened. ‘Jimbo Fisher removed from chat.’ … And they’re like typical coaches, they don’t know how to remove somebody or add somebody.

“So it’s like pretty cool that I can do it, and they’re like, ‘How do you do that?’ … Coaches are a little behind. That’s a big deal to be able to remove somebody from a chat. ‘Whoa, he must have somebody teaching him this stuff.'”

However, depending on the week’s games, Kiffin noted tensions tend to run high. That’s why he likes to try and lighten the mood, even if it results in a separate message about his timing.

“I feel like I keep it together,” Kiffin said. “Like, I keep the group together because one will beat the other, they’ll say something and they kind of like get mad at each other. Then, they won’t text for a week if you beat him and he doesn’t text for a week, or if they’re playing each other that week, they certainly aren’t going to say anything. … But then I just say something that night. ‘Hey, man, you’ll probably get us next year.’ They don’t think that’s funny.

“Then, one of them side texts me, ‘Hey, man, you shouldn’t have said that. Kirby [Smart’s] pissed off.’ And I’m like, dude, it’s just a game. Relax. We’re buddies.”

Lane Kiffin deems Brian Kelly SEC’s most ‘mysterious’ coach

Of course, SEC coaches have different personalities. Lane Kiffin tends to have fun on social media, while others like Kirby Smart tend to show more of an all-business approach.

But when it comes to the most “mysterious” coach in the league, Kiffin gave Brian Kelly that title. A New England native who previously coached at Notre Dame, there were questions about “fit” at LSU. But Kiffin pointed out how Kelly’s background makes him unique in the league.

“I like Brian,” Kiffin said. “Not a South guy. Kind of came in. I think maybe people don’t really understand him. He’s a little bit different than maybe your traditional Kirby Smart, he’s like, born and raised SEC.”

After poking fun at Smart’s hairstyle – with some help from Von joking the Georgia coach “cuts his own hair” – Kiffin recalled one of his top social media moments. When Kelly first arrived at LSU, a video surfaced of him dancing with a recruit, which led to a jab from Kiffin on social media.

“I retweeted that when he did that thing,” Kiffin said. “He was with a quarterback. It was terrible. … I think I wrote something like, did you put this out on purpose? You know they’re going to film you when you do this? And it’s not like his first one. He did it the year before. I’m like, you realize you’re kind of grinding on the dude?”