Kiffin ignites media firestorm by discussing challenge of recruiting out-of-state black athletes to Mississippi

Oct 22, 2022; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin looks on during the pregame against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Former Alabama offensive coordinator and the head football coach of the LSU Tigers Lane Kiffin has a lot of people talking after recent comments he made about recruiting out-of-state black athletes to Mississippi.

Kiffin recently talked to Vanity Fair and opened up about his experience while recruiting at Ole Miss. He said there were situations where recruits would tell him, “Hey, coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi.”

The veteran coach has coached in the southern United States for several years for multiple different programs, including Alabama, Florida Atlantic and Tennessee.

Kiffin went on to apologize for making the statement while talking to The Athletic. 

“I was asked questions about the differences in recruiting, and I said a narrative that we battled there from some out-of-state Black parents and grandparents was not wanting their kid to move to Mississippi,” Kiffin said. “That’s a narrative that coaches have been fighting forever. It wasn’t calculated by bringing it up.”

The LSU Tigers will enter the 2026 football season with Kiffin as its head coach. He feels the problem he faced at Ole Miss will not be a problem at LSU.

“That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” Kiffin said. “Parents were sitting here this weekend saying the campus’ diversity feels so great: ‘It feels like there’s no segregation. And we want that for our kid because that’s the real world.’”