Lane Kiffin's LSU debut proves he's worth every risk that comes with hiring him

The entire week, the conversation around Lane Kiffin was how he's bad for the sport, and that his attempts to add former "NFL players" were going to break the sport. Leaving Saturday Night, the conversation about Lane Kiffin is that the LSU Tigers have officially arrived as National Championship contenders with a dominant 51-10 win over Clemson.

Hiring Lane Kiffin typically means you're starting the countdown until he leaves in a messy exit that makes everyone hate him. Al Davis fired Lane Kiffin using an overhead projector to bash him to the media; Kiffin left Tennessee after just one season, bolting back to USC, where he'd get fired on the tarmac; Nick Saban fired him before the National Championship Game; and he left Ole Miss right before the College Football Playoff.

The question everyone always asks is why you'd put up with all the baggage that comes with Lane Kiffin. On Saturday Night, Lane Kiffin showed LSU fans and everyone outside the program why teams will always take the chance.

Lane Kiffin has already accomplished everything Brian Kelly couldn't

The LSU fans love nothing more than a team that plays with swagger, and they really enjoy when their team is hated by everyone else. The decision to hire Lane Kiffin covered the latter, but he still had to build a team that the fanbase could get behind.

As LSU jumped out to a 31-3 lead in the first half, it felt like the Tigers finally returned to the level of swagger and excitement that Ed Orgeron captured in 2019. This team may not reach nearly the same heights, but the way that LSU embarrassed Dabo Swinney brought that LSU swagger back to life.

Brian Kelly had a Heisman Trophy winner in Jayden Daniels, but the defense was so poor that the team as a whole lacked the energy that LSU can create. Throughout the entire Brian Kelly era, the Tigers couldn't run the ball effectively aside from when Daniels would create plays with his legs.

Lane Kiffin seemingly took all the complaints and worked down the list, checking off each goal as the game went along. In the first half alone, LSU scored more points and rushed for more yards than they had in a single game last season. The offense felt lifeless last season. How exciting is setting a program record for 1st downs in a single game?

Brian Kelly didn't embrace the LSU culture and couldn't become a villain? Lane Kiffin joked about if the Tigers would've played the NFL players to Holly Rowe at halftime.

Other schools may find it classless when LSU goes for a 2-point conversion for no good reason, leading 44-3, but LSU fans love the swagger. Justin Jefferson is in the crowd, so why not throw the ball up 41 points so a fellow Destrehan alum can score a touchdown for the Tigers?

All that the LSU fans ever ask for is a winner, and regardless of how you go about winning the fanbase will love you. Does Lane Kiffin get LSU sued by the SEC? Yes. Is Lane Kiffin potentially going to risk major punishments by playing former pros? Yes. Does Lane Kiffin come with a ton of distractions? Yes. Is Lane Kiffin going to win a ton of games as LSU's head coach? Yes, and it'll make LSY fans ignore every other risk.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow