Lane Kiffin has brought his charisma to Baton Rouge. And just like every Kiffin stop, LSU fans are enamored by their new head coach. However, he’s different from your regular CFB coach. Kiffin doesn’t hesitate to get into controversies. That gives his critics more fodder, but he doesn’t have to defend himself. The passionate fans do that for him. SEC reporter Cousin Shane was at the receiving end of it recently for speaking out against the new LSU head coach.

“You know, honestly, I’m a little surprised with the LSU reaction,” Shane said during the SEC podcast on September 2, when asked about the most thin-skinned fan base right now in the SEC. “I mean, I’ve never been tagged with more Ozempic ads than me saying something bad about their coach. I got to put them on there right now. “

The controversy that has LSU fans riled up centers on Shane calling Lane Kiffin a liar regarding how Kiffin handled his dramatic exit from Ole Miss to take the LSU head coaching job. When Kiffin accepted the LSU job, he released a public statement saying he wanted to stay and coach Ole Miss through the college football playoffs, but he alleged that Ole Miss Athletic Director Keith Carter denied his request. On That SEC podcast, Cousin Shane explicitly called this a lie.

Shane argued that Kiffin was trying to play the victim and shift blame onto the Ole Miss administration. He pointed out that Kiffin’s agent likely wrote the statement while Kiffin was already behind the scenes recruiting and hiring staff for LSU. 

During a recent SEC Mailbag episode titled “Do LSU Fans Enjoy Lane Kiffin’s Circus Act?”, Shane and SEC Mike dove into a listener question about whether Tigers fans are actually enjoying the chaotic drama that follows Kiffin everywhere.

Shane has been highly critical of the off-field noise Kiffin brought with him to Baton Rouge. It also includes Kiffin’s controversial Vanity Fair interview, bashing the state of Mississippi, ongoing eligibility battles, and portal drama. Shane essentially argued that LSU fans are turning a blind eye to the chaos just because Kiffin is a brilliant offensive mind. 

Even in the ongoing fiasco in which LSU is trying to get former NFL pros to its roster, Cousin Shane essentially called out Kiffin’s hypocrisy. The LSU head coach said that it’s not a distraction for the players.

“It has to be a distraction because even though Lane comes out here and he says, “You know what? I talked to the kids, and they’re all good with it. They love it.” You know, who doesn’t love it? The kids who didn’t make the roster. The ones that put in nine months of work and said, “Well, I mean, I’m not good with it.” But are they going to come out and say that? Hell no,” Shane said on September 2.

Despite the negative headlines surrounding Kiffin, LSU fans have been united in their support for their head coach. It also helps their case when they see a rival SEC program trying to do the same thing that they criticize Kiffin for. On September 2, On3 reported that several SEC teams are trying to add former pros to their rosters, a reversal of the SEC’s unanimous stance against such moves.

But when it comes to Shane, the LSU fans also view his anti-Lane criticism in light of his Tennessee fandom. Things didn’t end well between Kiffin and the Vols, to say the least. However, reducing his comments to his dislike for Kiffin isn’t fair. He is not the only one to say these things. Moreover, when the defense is body-shaming a reporter, any argument of bias falls flat.

So far, LSU fans have aggressively pushed back against the idea that Kiffin’s off-field antics and high-profile transfer-portal drama are a distraction. The consensus among the Tiger fanbase in the comments was that they do not care about the drama as long as Kiffin wins games. Fans pointed out that LSU went all-in on Kiffin precisely for his aggressive, headline-grabbing persona and elite offensive mind.