This Week in College Football
Del Olaleye: Kiffin in the news again, Jimbo wants change and a big money mismatch
Vols fans really don’t like Lane Kiffin.
Lane Kiffin has never shied away from making news. This week he finds himself there two times for completely different reasons. First the mundane. Kiffin has agreed to a contract with Florida Atlantic that runs through 2027. The specifics of the contract aren’t anything special. Bonuses are included the longer Kiffin remains at FAU. The buyout decreases for a Power 5 school that may want Kiffin the longer he remains the head coach in Boca Raton. Contract talk isn’t interesting. The numbers behind it mean nothing. If Kiffin wants to go, he’ll go and the extension won’t stop him.
Something far more interesting was Kiffin disclosing that he was advised to wear a bulletproof vest on his return to Knoxville while he was the offensive coordinator for Alabama. Kiffin infamously quit his job at Tennessee to take the USC job practically in the middle of the night. Vols fan weren’t happy then and they certainly weren’t happy when Kiffin was scheduled to show up on the opposing sideline coaching for one of their biggest rivals. If you think that is crazy...well you’re right. College football is for the crazies. Tennessee is the same fanbase that was so against the hiring of Greg Schiano that they tied him to sexual abuse of children because he happened to coach at Penn State in his past. Like I said, crazy.
Jimbo Fisher is all about that business
We’ve seen and heard the numbers that got Jimbo Fisher to leave Tallahassee and take the Texas A&M job. They are big numbers. They are “we expect you to win a national championship” numbers. He replaces Kevin Sumlin, a coach who helped upgrade the Aggie facilities to among the nation’s best. Renovations to Kyle Field and a nice and sparkly football-only facility headline the improvements. That football only facility features a new coach’s office. Nothing special about that but that is where some of the sparkle became overkill for Coach Fisher. It turns out he wasn’t a fan of the decor of Sumlin’s office. According to Fisher, "It's like a damn nightclub in here," Fisher told Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, "This ain't gonna be my office." I don’t think there would be a barber’s chair in the Bright Football Complex if Fisher was in on the plans when it was built. From the offense to the head coach’s home away from home it is gonna be an all-new look at Texas A&M.
Big Bank Takes Little Bank
That winner take all game is not a game that Louisville wants to play with Alabama. The two teams are scheduled to meet in Orlando in one of several kickoff games on college football’s opening weekend. It turns out the Crimson Tide are getting paid quite a bit more for that game than the Cardinals. Alabama’s check for the game is $4.5 million while Louisville will pull in $2.75 million for their troubles according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. The perks of being a dynasty I guess. Louisville enters that game without Lamar Jackson as Jawon Pass gets his chance to take over for the Heisman trophy winner. Louisville likes to recruit in Florida so the game in Orlando makes sense. Catching that beating from the Crimson Tide is gonna be worth it. Just not worth as much as the win will be worth for Nick Saban and Alabama.