Softball On SI

Lane Kiffin’s LSU Move Brings Back Memories of Patrick Murphy’s 48-Hour LSU Softball Stint

Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy once became the head coach at LSU for three days in 2011.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Alabama softball head coach Patrick Murphy was named the LSU head coach for 48 hours back in 2011.
Alabama softball head coach Patrick Murphy was named the LSU head coach for 48 hours back in 2011. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

College football's favorite villain, Lane Kiffin, has been the center of attention the past several days. After leading Ole Miss to one of its best seasons in program history, the football coach decided to take the same job at Louisiana State.

The drama has been intoxicating and draws some comparison to a college softball coaching move that was made in 2011.

LSU was involved with that one, too.

After taking the Alabama Crimson Tide to its best finish at the Women's College World Series in 2011, head coach Patrick Murphy shocked the softball world when he resigned and accepted an offer to become the head coach at LSU.

At the time, the move was puzzling. Alabama was the best team in the Southeastern Conference and Murphy was regarded as the best coach.

Three days after resigning, Murphy reneged and returned to Alabama.

"It was a whirlwind. Upside down. Topsy turvy. Any way you want to call it," Murphy told Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman back in 2012. "Just one of those weeks that I could definitely write a book about. We literally got off the plane in Tuscaloosa (after leaving the WCWS), and I looked down and had a phone call from Baton Rouge. I thought, ‘This is (former LSU coach) Yvette Girouard calling me.' But it was the AD."

At the time, Murphy was reportedly making $140,000 per year at Alabama. LSU offered him $225,000.

"First, I want to thank everyone at the University of Alabama - the administration, the players and the support staff - for their support over the last few days," Murphy prepared in a statement sent out Alabama at the time. "I have tremendous respect for the University of Alabama and for LSU. LSU offered me a great opportunity, but I realized once I got there that I had made a mistake that had nothing to do with LSU. I realized that I belong at Alabama. Alabama is where my heart is and I cannot in good conscience try to do a job in which I am not totally committed beyond any doubt. I can honestly say that the last few days have only made it clear that Alabama is where I want to be - beyond any doubt. It would have been totally unfair to everyone at LSU - especially the players - for me to be conflicted at all about where I was."

LSU ended up hiring Beth Torina and the rest is history. She led the Tigers to the WCWS in her first year (2012), but it was Alabama who won the national title that year.

While Murphy and Kiffin are completely different people with their own philosophies, LSU is the common denominator. Both scenarios show that the administration in Baton Rouge is not afraid to go after the game's biggest name regardless of sport.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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