The Lane Train

What Is It Really About?

I need to acknowledge up front that what I communicate here about Lane Kiffin is all from observation and opinion. I know hardly ZERO facts. I cannot read a man’s heart nor know his motives. Heck, my own motives confuse me most of the time.

I also need to acknowledge that what I communicate here could quite possibly label me a hypocrite. I get it. As with my motives, sometimes I find myself contradicting myself. I am going to offer a thought or two about a man who left one job to take another. I did the same a few short months ago.

With these caveats out of the way, I feel compelled to wrestle with Lane Kiffin’s decision to leave the head coaching job at Ole Miss for the same position at LSU. I don’t know how Lane manages to do it, but the media loves him. Whether intentional or not, drama follows him wherever he goes. And, mysteriously, on a weekend where the biggest college football games were played (rivalry week), the dominant story in the sports world was Lane Kiffin and where he would be coaching next season. Before every game. After every game. During half-time of every game. The talking heads at ESPN would make sure we got an update from Marty Smith who was perched in Oxford awaiting a hint of news to share with the world.

Finally, sometime during my Sunday afternoon nap, the news broke. Lane Kiffin was leaving Ole Miss to become the next head football coach at LSU. Bye Hotty Toddy. Hello Geaux Tigahs. Marty could finally go home and get some sleep.

Honestly, the news didn’t surprise me. I’m not sure why. Maybe I was just relieved that we could move on and talk about something else. That Kiffin was headed to cajun country didn’t really surprise or bother me. Something else did.

I’m not sure who to be angry with - Ole Miss’s athletic director Keith Carter, or ole Lane himself. But moments after I read the Lane Train was headed South, I read that Kiffin would not be coaching one of the best teams Ole Miss has ever had in this year’s College Football Playoffs. That’s right. Keith Carter thought it best for Lane to go ahead and pack up and get out of town. Lane, though disagreeing with the AD, respected his decision and left.

Again, I am not sure where I need to project my anger. Carter could have easily let the man who built the program to record setting heights finish the season. But he didn’t. At the same time, Kiffin could have easily stayed put and kept his job at Ole Miss. He could have waited to make a coaching decision at the end of the year, once the Playoffs were over. But he didn’t. Lane chose LSU. Carter chose to let him go ahead and leave.

And who gets the short end of the stick? The players who have worked their you-know-whats-off for years. The players who gave everything they had to Kiffin, the coaching staff, and the University of Mississippi. The players who had worked their way into the top 10 and a sure spot in the College Football Playoffs. The players are left high and dry (not to mention the fans) while Carter and Kiffin do their thing. Only the Lord knows where Ole Miss will finish the season. But we know it won’t be the same unit that worked incredibly hard together all year.

I’m not sure who to be angry with, but I do know why I’m sad. I’m sad because it feels to me that this is yet another case of completely forgetting and neglecting the main thing. Isn’t the whole point of college football (or any college athletics for that matter) about the student athletes? Isn’t this about developing them and pushing them and encouraging them to be the best version of themselves for the good of the school they represent? Isn’t this ultimately about them being able to showcase their God-given talent and ability to play a game while they earn a degree? This whole Lane saga is yet another reminder to me of how easy it is to get caught up in everything but what ultimately matters.

It’s not just Head Coach Lane Kiffin. It’s not just Athletic Director Keith Carter. It’s Pastor Matt Pearson. It’s hundreds of thousands of moms and dads and CEO’s and church leaders all over the country. It is so easy to get caught in so many things, good things, that we forget the whole point: love God, love people. Follow Jesus and nurture the relationships God has put in your life. Worship God and love the person right in front of you.

I don’t know why Lane left for the Bayou. Though I have my suspicions, I’ll probably never know. But to be honest, it’s really none of my business. Sure. It’s fun to talk about with the guys at Christmas parties. I might be one of the best armchair quarterbacks in the league. At the end of the day, it really isn’t any of my business. For me, this whole drama is an important reminder. It’s easy to get so caught up in lesser things that the primary thing(s) gets left in the wind. It’s so easy for the lesser things to shine brighter and project bigger than they actually are. Fellow Jesus follower - as you live your life, do your thing, rush through the Christmas season, and anticipate a new year - let’s learn a lesson from the Lane Train . . . never forget what is ultimate: God and people.

[Pictures found here and here.]