LSU football coach Lane Kiffin believes style and substance co-exist when it comes to his long-term mission in Baton Rouge.
A successful football team, one that plays at warp speed and generates bunches of points and yards and ultimately a victory, are the things Kiffin’s looking to create when LSU opens the season Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Tiger Stadium against Clemson.
“It’s the most credentialed game in the history of Tiger Stadium for two teams that were 7-6 last year,” Kiffin said during Wednesday’s Southeastern Conference Coaches Teleconference. “I think that speaks volumes of the eyeballs on us and people wanting to be around the program, to watch the program. All of that is important nowadays. The No. 1 thing is winning, but after that, that you have a very marketable program that people want to be a part of, want to support in person and financially.”
LSU confirmed a tweet sent by ESPN’s Marty Smith that the start of the 102nd season in school history will feature a list of media and celebrity guests in excess of 900.
ESPN’s “College GameDay” will visit the LSU-Clemson game, and ABC will televise the matchup nationally.
High-profiled games such as LSU-Clemson attract some of the nation’s top recruits which Kiffin acknowledged will be out in force. He’s adamant about giving recruits and fans a good show so they both show back up in droves over the course of the season.
“The No. 1 thing is to win. That’s how you impact your program, recruiting, fans … everything,” Kiffin said. “I believe nowadays this is big business. You pay the players a lot. We’ve got big payrolls, we need to bring a lot of money in. Part of that is winning. Another thing is you have a program that people want to support and players want to come to.
“We’ll have a lot of recruits here,” Kiffin said. “The No. 1 thing to do to impact recruits is win. That has a lot to do with the atmosphere late in the game and what they remember. We need to win. The second thing is to play with style. How does your team look and how recruits want to be part of it? The sidelines … a swagger, a style that you play with. That’s something over the years we’ve worked on and a lot of players have wanted to come play for us.”
There hasn’t been a more visible college football coach than Kiffin who left Ole Miss after six years to become LSU’s new football coach in December.
Nine months later, Kiffin’s become more of a lightning rod to fans outside of Louisiana, while endearing himself to those in purple and gold.
Kiffin’s profile has increased to add a pair of guest appearances in national advertising campaigns by Dr. Pepper and Door Dash.
In the ninth season of Dr Pepper’s Fansville ads, Kiffin stars alongside Brian Bosworth, who plays the sheriff of the fictional town.
Bosworth stops Kiffin, driving in a sports car, for an illegal lane change, to which Kiffin responds, “I’m not really known for following the rules.”
Kiffin’s scheduled to appear in another 30-second spot for Dr. Pepper during the football season.
Door Dash brought together Kiffin, Jameis Winston and Reggie Bush together for a commercial where Kiffin commands the spotlight.
“Nowadays everybody in college football’s got a deal,” Kiffin said, eventually pointing toward a billboard of himself holding a Door Dash bag. “Players, coaches. … even mascots. Why not the fans? It’s about time they got something back like free groceries for a year. A sweet ride (Charger), or even a house.”
Kiffin likened such a style to that of the famed Los Angeles Lakers that captivated much of the country.
“Showtime’s real and it’s a performance,” he said. “You go to great concerts. Go wherever you like, Morgan Wallen, Taylor Swift. It’s a performance. The whole thing and we want to perform where we win and that people want to come back. That the stadium’s always full and that people are fighting to get into the stadium.”
