PALMER: Kiffin’s effort is obvious, and that’s half the battle

By Hunt Palmer

Lightning finds Lane Kiffin.

He’s a rod for online criticism, talk show debate and social media content. His exit from Oxford, like his exits from Los Angeles and Tuscaloosa, dominated headlines. The general consensus, though not unanimous, was that Kiffin abandoned his team.

He’ll wear the black hat for that.

Ultimately, though, none of that really matters. Kiffin’s job comes with a scoreboard. Literally. His results on the field will determine his legacy at LSU. You’d be hard-pressed to find a person who thinks Les Miles was a better football coach than Brian Kelly. Their tenures at LSU will be viewed much differently, though. The same can be said for any Kelly-Ed Orgeron comp.

If Kiffin wins a title at LSU, like Orgeron and Miles did, his departure from Ole Miss takes on a different shade of color. That’s especially true if Ole Miss slips back toward irrelevance where they spent 60 years prior to his arrival in Oxford.

Kiffin has been on the job eight weeks, and the scoreboard hasn’t been turned on yet. However, in those eight weeks, he’s managed to prove one thing — he’s working. Fair or foul, the talk surrounding LSU’s last two coaches centered around a lack of focus near the end.

Call it “Just Different” like Kiffin does. Call it “The Best Job in Football” like Nick Saban did. Call it a “Have” if you believe those still exist in a world where Indiana just dominated college football. No matter the expression, LSU undoubtedly has advantages. Those advantages help; they don’t guarantee.

What it takes to parlay advantages into excellence is work.

Anyone questioning Saban’s work ethic? How about Skip Bertman’s hustle in the 80s? Think Jay Johnson takes a lot of mornings off to watch Netflix? Say what you will about Miles, but the guy recruited like crazy and practiced his players as hard as anyone. Kim Mulkey’s intensity never turns off.

Kiffin’s first 80 days were tireless. It’s impossible to sign 15 high schoolers, retain a defensive staff, create a budget and ink more than 40 transfers all while learning the ropes of a new place without putting in the effort.

Because of his social media presence, Kiffin’s effort is often more visible than most, maybe all. But his flights to Knoxville to see Sam Leavitt and Atlanta to see Jordan Seaton were an indication of his commitment to the gig. His ability to land them both speaks to his closing ability. After all, he came to LSU for access to the best players.

Nearly $100 million can change a person. If we’ve read anything about Kiffin since Thanksgiving, it’s that he hasn’t changed.

For LSU, maybe that’s a good thing.