Lane Kiffin will not stand for stupidity. He won’t allow it to go unchecked.
The fourth-year head coach at Ole Miss made that abundantly clear during Saturday’s game against the University of Louisiana-Monroe. Kiffin laid into one of his best players on the sideline after an extremely idiotic move that should have resulted in an ejection.
Defensive back Daijahn Anthony was frustrated after making a tackle during third quarter. He let out his anger by open-hand punching the opponent in the face and was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty. The officials had every right to throw him out of the game, but chose to let him play on.
Kiffin didn’t care. Anthony was immediately pulled from the field and sent to the bench.
He stood isolated on the sideline for a moment before his head coach had a chance to talk. The discussion was entirely one-sided and caught on camera. Kiffin laid into Anthony and cussed him out.
For Anthony to throw a punch at all was bad. For him to throw a punch because he was frustrated by a tight game against a far inferior opponent was even worse. Kiffin wasn’t having it.
Seeing a head coach yell at his player is nothing new. It was completely warranted in this instance.
In a world where players often go unchecked for their actions, Kiffin’s butt-chewing was a sight for sore eyes. Such egregious behavior will not fly at his program.
Anthony will never forget that moment. He will never throw another punch again.
Lane Kiffin gave Anthony a piece of his mind, sat him for a few plays, and then sent him back into the game to learn from his mistake. That’s refreshing to see from a college football coach in the modern era!
Live, learn, move on.