Back during the 2022 coaching cycle, Auburn nearly hired Lane Kiffin. Ultimately, Kiffin decided that his family's pull to stay in Oxford, Mississippi, was too strong, and he reneged on the Plains after reportedly accepting an offer to replace Bryan Harsin.
Hugh Freeze was brought on by freshly hired AD John Cohen instead. The rest was history.
Kiffin stayed at Ole Miss for three more seasons before ripping the Rebels' hearts out mid-CFP run last December to take the LSU job.
With Auburn set to host LSU at Jordan-Hare Stadium this week, Kiffin brought his near-hire at AU back to the surface.
When asked whether Jordan-Hare Stadium was haunted, Kiffin revealed what then-Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl told him during the hiring process: JHS is magical. And haunted.
"When Auburn was trying to hire me, Bruce Pearl did tell me that it was (magical), by the way," Kiffin said on Monday. "He was like, 'Hey, you'll get a win here every year that you don't deserve because magical things just happen here. It's haunted.' So that's where I got that from."
Of course, the 2025 season didn't have that magic. Freeze's Tigers only defeated Ball State and South Alabama at home before he was canned, following a 4-5 start.
If anything, the Kentucky loss on November 1 was the opposite of magic. Auburn was a double-digit favorite heading into that game. Freeze was fired because he couldn't even protect Jordan-Hare Stadium's voodoo.
Still, Alex Golesh has kicked many of the bad Freeze-era habits. Specifically, Golesh's squad has already won more one-score games.
The magic might be back at 251 S Donahue Dr.
Lane Kiffin recognizes Jordan-Hare Stadium as a tough place to play
After Auburn upset Georgia in Athens this past weekend, Kiffin is taking the threat of an LSU road loss this weekend seriously.
As Kiffin noted, the SEC is a tough conference to play in on the road, regardless of the opponent and location. He was making a larger point about the SEC being a deeper conference than the Big Ten overall.
"So our middle to bottom, whoever you declare those teams, those are still really hard places to play," Kiffin said. "I mean, we haven't won on the road at LSU in 24 months, and there's one other non-conference road game in there... It was at Clemson, and LSU won. So, I mean, it's real in the conference."
Kiffin knows that an upset loss to Auburn would likely cause him unimaginable stress in Baton Rouge. Unfortunately, in this conference, there are no breaks. LSU got the closest thing to one against Mississippi State this past weekend. The Bulldogs were missing quarterback Kamario Taylor and running back Fluff Bothwell.
Kiffin's squad certainly isn't getting a break against an Auburn team that finally has confidence.
We'll see if the magic is too much to overcome on Saturday afternoon.
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