After the introduction of the NIL (Name Image Likeness deal that pays collegiate athletes) era, fans never thought the layout of college football could change any more than it already has. On November 30th, 2025, however, Lane Kiffin, Head Coach at Ole Miss, proved to college football fans all across the country that they couldn’t have been more wrong. The Ole Miss Rebels, who boast a whopping 11-1 record, are ranked 6th in the college football playoffs with a chance to win a national championship for the first time in school history. That was the plan-at least until LSU fired their coach, Brian Kelly, and gave Kiffin an undeniable offer of a ninety-million-dollar contract over seven years. With murmurs in the air of Kiffin being in talks with the Rebels’ rival for a head coaching position, Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter decided not to let him finish the season with the Rebels. This forced Kiffin to leave in the midst of a potential championship run, completely abandoning the team.
In recent years, players have opted out and hit the transfer portal mid-season, creating almost a new normal in college football. Which spins the narrative that loyalty doesn’t exist anymore among the players. What nobody expected was that coaches would follow suit, leaving in the middle of a season to take advantage of another opportunity presented to them. While most fans believe that this change only pertains to LSU and Ole Miss, the underlying fact is that fans of all teams shouldn’t get too comfortable with not just their players, but also their coaches. What Kiffen proved to us that day is that everything and anyone in college football can be bought with the right price. Kiffin even acknowledged the fact that the state of college football is messy, stating, “This is another example of how nobody’s been in charge of anything in college football. Because if it were the NFL, you couldn’t talk to anybody until after the playoffs. It’s a horrible system.”
Woodford County High School is filled with fans of more local teams such as Kentucky, Louisville, and even Tennessee. While these teams may not make the same level of noise as LSU and Ole Miss do in the college football world, they are just as susceptible to the transfer portal and “coaching carousel” that has become such a crucial part of the sport today. In more recent news, Kentucky recently hired Oregon’s offensive coordinator, Will Stein, while Oregon, the ninth-ranked team in the country, is also in the midst of a potential playoff run. It’s essential to remember that, just as a team might acquire a valuable asset quickly, it can also be acquired by others just as fast. Regardless of your favorite team, college football fans at Woodford County High School can no longer sit comfortably with their team and shouldn’t be surprised if their coaches and players get poached. Next time, students want to talk about college football at the lunch table, just make sure you’re up to date on your knowledge because we are now in a new era where changes are happening every day.
Kentucky fan and college football fanatic Jay Wells provides a well-rounded angle to today’s world of college football, stating that, “NIL was definitely necessary, but there needs to be more boundaries. Nowadays, you see more and more players transferring and less sticking to one school all three or four years.” Wells also added that LSU’s hiring of Lane Kiffin, “highlights a big problem with college football,” further elaborating by saying, “when coaches and players are transferring in the middle of playoffs, and bowl season, it ruins the sport.”
Lane Kiffin’s hiring has put the nail in the coffin of the old ways of college football. While NIL is a beneficial asset to players, it’s been shown to encourage players and coaches’ disloyalty to programs, thus hindering college football fans’ experiences all across the country. For now, fans will have to learn to love this new, ever-changing style of college football.
