LSU coach Lane Kiffin has not strayed far from the headlines since he abandoned the Ole Miss Rebels during their push for College Football Playoff qualification last year. Kiffin has become college football’s No. 1 villain after adding former NFL players to the LSU roster just a few days before his first game against Clemson Tigers in Week 1.
On Tuesday, an excerpt from veteran journalist John Talty’s “Lane Being Lane: The Story of Lane Kiffin, College Football’s Agent of Chaos” book went viral on social media. The story documents Kiffin’s tumultuous stay in Tuscaloosa as the Alabama Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator.
Explosive Book Reveals Lane Kiffin’s Off-Field Antics in Alabama
After being fired by the USC Trojans in 2013, Kiffin spent a week reviewing Alabama’s offense. After offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier left for Michigan, Nick Saban offered the divisive coach the job.
In an excerpt from Talty’s book posted on Vanity Fair on Tuesday, a friend of Kiffin’s revealed the coach’s erratic behavior off the field during his stint in Tuscaloosa.
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“‘Can you introduce me to hotties?’” As one friend of Kiffin’s during that time put it, he was afraid Kiffin was going to “drink himself to death.”
“Kiffin was lonely without his family, and he was facing intense pressure working for a man he couldn’t understand. The stress was almost unbearable at times, and he looked for relief around town,” the excerpt read. “With that came guilt and further strain from his family over his actions.
“I’ve seen him on the floor crying like a (expletive) baby,” the friend described, when Kiffin faced repercussions from mistakes that impacted his family. “And then I’ve seen him doing (expletive) that’s like ‘you got to put your (expletive) back in your pants.’ Layla filed for divorce in March 2016, citing irreconcilable differences. A month before the filing, Kiffin issued a statement to Fox Sports stating the couple had ‘mutually decided to divorce.'”
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Despite the off-field shenanigans, the Crimson Tide boasted one of the nation’s top offenses under Kiffin, and in 2014, he was a finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation’s top assistant coach.
Like clockwork, Kiffin left Tuscaloosa under a cloud after accepting the head coaching job at Florida Atlantic in December 2016.
Saban relieved Kiffin of his duties just weeks before the national championship game against the Clemson Tigers, and his job was taken by Steve Sarkisian, who succeeded him at USC.
