Pat McAfee Reveals Reason He Told Lane Kiffin to Stay at Ole Miss

ESPN’s 'College GameDay' analyst explained why he told Kiffin that he should stay at Ole Miss instead of taking the LSU job.

ESPN's Pat McAfee revealed the reason why he told Lane Kiffin to stay at Ole Miss rather than leave for LSU. / Michael Longo / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ESPN College GameDay analyst Pat McAfee had legendary coach Nick Saban on his show Friday to discuss Lane Kiffin's decision to leave Ole Miss for LSU.

McAfee, as he had previously stated, was in favor of Kiffin staying at Ole Miss instead of jumping for the opportunity in Baton Rouge.

"I still would like to restate that I was publicly and privately telling Lane that he should stay at Ole Miss. Me, personally," McAfee said. "Just because I thought there was potential for a lot of heat coming on the other side of it just by reading the tea leaves of the internet. But also having the opportunity to be a guy who builds the place, builds the town.”

I was publicly and privately telling Lane Kiffin that he should stay at Ole Miss..

That would have been a cool legacy #PMSLive https://t.co/fZeEnUICi4 pic.twitter.com/7UhIKGoHdP

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 5, 2025

While Saban agreed with McAfee on the legacy that Kiffin could have had at Ole Miss, he emphasized the need for coaches to search for the "next challenge" in their careers.

"One thing about this that I think people don't see maybe from the perspective of [the coach] is that sometimes, as a coach, you think of—and you said it—to build something. You build a program," Saban began. "You take over a program that's not so good ... and you build it. Well once you build it, and you have success, what's the next challenge? ... When do you get to the place in your life where it's enough? And you can just say every year is like a new job, and I am just going to try to sustain success here?"

There is no doubt that Kiffin has everything he needs to succeed in Baton Rouge. Time will tell if he made the right decision.

---

More College Football on Sports Illustrated

feed