‘Maturity’ led to Auburn’s most coveted coaching candidate passing on Tigers job

Lane Kiffin, the most coveted Auburn football head coaching candidate during the 2022 hiring cycle, says that “maturity” is what led the Ole Miss coach to stay in Oxford instead of ditching the ‘Sip for a higher profile job on the Plains.

“So why not leave Ole Miss? What exactly changed in his thinking and caused him to stay?” ESPN’s Alex Scarborough asked before answering by saying, “Kiffin says he’s in a different place mentally, more mature.”

Scarborough relayed Kiffin’s concession that the Lincoln, Nebraska native would’ve taken the Auburn job once upon a time. “Kiffin is blunt in his assessment of the Auburn job,” Scarborough prefaced before writing, “Ten years ago, he admits, ‘I don’t know that decision would’ve gone the same way.’ Back then, he says, he would have seen the opportunity in simplified terms. He would have run the numbers, found that the Tigers’ four head coaches before Bryan Harsin all had teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the final Associated Press poll, and that would have been enough for him to sign on the dotted line.”

Lane Kiffin would’ve navigated ‘murky’ Auburn football waters

Kiffin told Scarborough that he would’ve had little issues dealing with AU’s boosters if he had taken the Auburn football head coaching job.

“Kiffin says he wasn’t overly influenced by (Auburn’s) high rate of turnover,” Scarborough wrote. “Nor was he swayed by Auburn’s reputation for meddlesome boosters. He believes he could have navigated those murky waters if he had to.”

The Ole Miss coach isn’t 100% sure, though, if Auburn is even an upgrade at this point.

“And another part of the equation changed: the sport itself,” Scarborough wrote. “With NIL and the transfer portal at his disposal, did Kiffin really believe Auburn was that much better positioned to win than Ole Miss? Maybe not.”