Ryan Clark Pushes Back on Jimbo Fisher's Comments Surrounding Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss

Lane Kiffin remains one of the hottest topics across college football with former Texas A&M and Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher labeling him a "villain" this week while on the ACC Network.

No. 6 Ole Miss (13-1, 7-1 SEC) wrapped up the regular season with an 11-1 record and a College Football Playoff berth cemented, but it didn't stop Kiffin from making the move to Baton Rouge to join LSU on Nov. 30 amid a historic move.

But the kicker is that he brought along a myriad of assistant coaches with him from Ole Miss - where the staffers have been working double duty across the last five weeks at both Ole Miss and LSU.

Now, fast forward to Ole Miss' College Football Playoff showdown against Miami on Thursday night and the Rebels will be without two assistants that have been working with both programs: George McDonald (wide receivers) and Joe Cox (tight ends).

Fisher believes that Kiffin "changed the rules" while not allowing all assistants to travel to Glendale - only offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and running backs coach Kevin Smith - both of which have inked deals with LSU.

LSU Tigers Football. — Aug 30, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin (right) talks with offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. during warm ups prior to the game against the Georgia State Panthers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

“You can’t change the rules of the game in the middle of the game, not for the staff, but because of the players,” Fisher said. “Is it really about them? Is it really about the athletes, or is it about the money, and everything else? … I think that’s where he’s wrong.”

“Everybody says he thinks he’s made out to be the villain. He is right now, because that is wrong. Those kids have an opportunity to do something — you know, that national championship ring I have?

"Those guys, you don’t get those opportunities. What they have done, and for them to have the opportunity to win the national championship. … He’s wrong for doing it.”

“He thought his dysfunction of leaving would cause them the dysfunction,” Fisher added. “No, it united them. And those coaches went back because they loved the kids, and they did it, and now he’s pulling them back.”

Now, ESPN's Ryan Clark has weighed in on Fisher's comments during a segment on ESPN's First Take.

“How do y’all know the plan changed? How do y’all know … so many people are saying, ‘You can’t pull (the now-former Ole Miss assistants) now,’ but what if that was always the plan?” Clark said Thursday.

“What if … the tight ends coach (Cox) and the receivers coach (McDonald), it was always the plan for them to leave at this point so they could do their job to steward and set up and represent and gain and acquire those kids they will be responsible to at LSU.

LSU — Nov 25, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Ryan Clark on the ESPN Monday Night Football Countdown set before the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“LSU wanted Lane Kiffin to coach in the College Football Playoff. (Ole Miss AD) Keith Carter made that decision, and in making that decision, (new head coach) Pete Golding and Lane Kiffin have communicated from the very start the exact way this process would go,” Clark continued.

“… But for us to build this narrative that this man (Kiffin) changed in the middle of what’s going on is wrong, especially when you don’t know.”

“I disagree with some of what Jimbo said, and Jimbo was my offensive coordinator in college. Jimbo called (Kiffin) stupid, he’s actually not – he’s extremely intelligent. Jimbo called him fake, I think that he’s probably problematically authentic to himself,” Clark added.

“And he called him selfish, and that part is true – the selfishness is going to LSU. It’s understanding that it’s a better job, it’s knowing you’ve been 10-3, you’ve been 11-2 and you didn’t get opportunities to be in the College Football Playoff, and when a team like LSU gets to that point, they get in.”

More Ole Miss News:

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