“Folks Can Kick Rocks, I don’t Give a Damn”: Stephen A. Smith Makes His Stance Clear on Lane Kiffin’s LSU joining

After electing to take a benchmark deal to become the head coach of the LSU Tigers, Lane Kiffin did his best to honor his players by requesting to finish coaching the Ole Miss Rebels through the upcoming College Football Playoff. However, the program’s athletic director, Keith Carter, promptly shut that idea down.

Kiffin reportedly offered his now-former coaching staff an opportunity to join him in Baton Rouge, but it was a one-time offer, and they had to get on the plane with him that day. The entire ordeal has now left the 7th-ranked team in the nation without its head coach right before the playoffs, and while the Rebels were able to immediately install their defensive coordinator, Pete Golding, as their new HC, everyone is obviously still frazzled by the situation.

Nevertheless, given the amount of cash and wins that are involved here, ESPN’s flagship personality, Stephen A. Smith, isn’t faulting Kiffin for any of it. “You’ve got a whole bunch of people out there that consider him a pariah,” Smith shouted in reference to fans booing Kiffin as he boarded his private flight to Louisiana.

“To me, I mean please. Folks can kick rocks. I just don’t get it… I’ve heard everything that everybody has had to say. I don’t give a damn… Over the last four years, nobody has won more games in college football than Lane Kiffin other than Ryan Day at Ohio State, Dan Lanning at Oregon, and Kirby Smart at Georgia, and then Lane Kiffin is at number four. That’s it… And you got people in Oxford, Mississippi treating him like he’s the devil? Stop it.”

According to Smith, the chance to join a “blue-blood” program like LSU, while simultaneously escaping Oxford, Mississippi, is a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity that just can’t be ignored. Considering how things have played out, it seems as if Kiffin would agree with him.

In an interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith, the 50-year-old play caller mentioned that his decision was more predicated on family than football, so it may not be a stretch to suggest that the wife and kids had grown tired of the lifestyle. Of course, that doesn’t mean much of anything to the Rebels, who still have to find a way to compete after abruptly losing one of the most prized head coaches in all of college football.

It’s a rather unprecedented spot to be in, but then again, if there’s a team that’s proven itself capable of overcoming the odds, it’s Ole Miss. They may not be able to replicate the same game plans and scripts, but they’ll still have that same grit and tenacity that helped them earn a 7-1 record in the SEC.