Lane Kiffin Talks Embracing CFB Villain Role After Taking LSU HC Job, Cites Hulk Hogan's Career

LSU football head coach Lane Kiffin's messy and unceremonious exit from Ole Miss last November made him a villain in some peoples' eyes, but he seems to almost be embracing the role.

In a one-on-one conversation with Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger at SEC Media Days in Tampa, Kiffin compared his arc to that of former wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan.

"In a way, you were more of a hero [at Ole Miss]," Kiffin said Thursday. "It's like people started cheering for you. Now, you're back to the villain."

"In the end, you watch his story and he became a hero. But during it, he's the villain," Kiffin added. "Everybody hates you, but Hulk looked at it differently because he was purely entertainment. He says in his [TV] special that whether they were for or against me, they loved coming into the arena."

From an entertainment perspective, Kiffin is right. His LSU Tigers are going to be must-watch television at the start of the season. If they keep winning, they'll stay that way.

LSU has Saturday evening prime time games in Week 1 (vs. Clemson) and Week 3 (at Ole Miss in Kiffin's return to Oxford). A hot start will lead to LSU being one of the most discussed programs in the nation.

As far as hero vs. villain goes, Kiffin will probably always be a villain at Ole Miss for how his time there ended, even if he led the Rebels to great success over his six years.

Last year's team went 11-1 under Kiffin before he handed the program to defensive coordinator Pete Golding, who guided the Rebels to the College Football Playoff semifinal and now serves as the team's head coach.

Kiffin can be a massive hero at LSU if he wins, though. The Tigers had one of the best teams in college football history in 2019 en route to a national championship and undefeated season, but they have scuffled ever since. Kiffin gives this team a chance to shine once again.

We'll see where Kiffin has the Tigers soon enough when they play Clemson on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET.