Jimbo Fisher has never been a fan of Lane Kiffin, and he never tried to hide it. His dramatic switch from Ole Miss to LSU in the middle of the Playoff gave Fisher the exact material he needed to criticize Kiffin even further.
But that was in January. Fisher is carrying his grudge into July too, and warned Kiffin about a fatal flaw of the LSU fans, coming from a former LSU assistant coach himself.
“There won’t be. And in most top schools, there is no (patience),” Fisher said on Westwood One Sports, speaking about the patience level of LSU fans with Kiffin in his debut season.
The new head coach in Baton Rouge has no national championship wins on his resume. Not one. But he has some experience in leading a program to the playoffs, like he led Ole Miss there for the first time in program history last season.
No Honeymoon Period for Lane Kiffin at LSU
GettyJimbo Fishers wanrs Lane Kiffin of unrealistic grace period at LSU.
It took Kiffion six years to get Ole Miss into the postseason. He won’t have that luxury at LSU.
Fisher warns that three losses would be a more realistic threshold, speaking in terms of LSU fans. No honeymoon period whatsoever.
“I mean, if he just loses one, they’ll probably start, but if it gets to two or more, they’re going to be on you. That’s just the nature of the beast, and it is down there.”
Every head coach that LSU hired after 2000 has won a national championship, with Brian Kelly being the only exception. Nick Saban won one in 2003. Les Miles won one in 2007. Ed Orgeron won one with arguably the greatest team ever in 2019.
All these head coaches took about 2-3 seasons to get to the mountaintop. History like that is exactly the reason Kiffin’s debut season doesn’t have a standard grace period. Instead, instant results are the norm, and Kiffin will feel every bit of it right from the moment he loses his first game.
But that’s not impatience, that’s the LSU standard Kiffin signed up for.
“But the pressure of this game, whether you’re on top or the so-called on the hot seat, whatever that is, you know, it’s a big no matter what, because as soon as you lose in today’s world, they’re on you. So that’s part of the game.”
Kiffin has No Margin for Error
GettyJimbo Fishers wanrs Lane Kiffin of unrealistic grace period at LSU.
Kiffin doesn’t even get a warm-up. Right from Week 1, LSU walks in against Clemson. Hot seat talks surrounding Dabo Swinney put him under much more pressure for a Week 1 win, making it a tougher win for the Tigers.
Follow that up two weeks later with a toxic, rivalry-of-the-season game in Oxford to face the same Rebels team he left behind, and Kiffin could easily burn through his entire fan buffer before October even arrives.
The entire 3-game stretch sets the tone for the rest of the season. Once he survives that, the brutal November slate is next, where the Tigers take on Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and Arkansas. How Kiffin navigates this part ultimately defines the success of his debut season.
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