#575 - Lane Kiffin

Lane Kiffin is heading into his fifth season as Head Football Coach at the University of Mississippi. He has led the Rebels to four consecutive bowl berths, including two New Year’s Six appearances, under his guidance since 2020. Theo joins Coach Kiffin in his office in Oxford, MS to talk about his somewhat polarizing reputation in the world of college football, how much SEC football means to people, and secrets from his legendary coaches group chat. Lane Kiffin: https://www.instagram.com/thereallanekiffin/ ------------------------------------------------ Tour Dates! https://theovon.com/tour New Merch: https://www.theovonstore.com ------------------------------------------------- Sponsored By: Celsius: Go to the Celsius Amazon store to check out all of their flavors. #CELSIUSBrandPartner #CELSIUSLiveFit https://amzn.to/3HbAtPJ DraftKings: Download the DraftKings Pick Six app NOW and use code THEO for new customers to play $5, get $50 in Pick Six credits. Better payouts. Bigger wins. Only with Pick6 from DraftKings. The Crown is yours. https://draftkings.com Sonic: Head to SONIC to try the Double SONIC Smasher for just one dollar, starting April 21st, when you order in the SONIC app. LIVE FREE, EAT SONIC. Tax not included. While supplies last. www.sonicdrivein.com/deals Liquid IV: Go to http://liquidiv.com and use code THEO to get 20% off your first order. Acorns: Go to http://acorns.com/theo to get your $20 bonus investment today. ------------------------------------------------- Gambling Problem? Call one eight hundred gambler. Help is available for problem gambling. Call eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven, or visit c c p g dot org in Connecticut. Must be eighteen plus, age and eligibility restrictions vary by jurisdiction. Pick6 not available everywhere, including New York and Ontario. Void where prohibited. One per new customer. Bonus awarded as non-withdrawable Pick Six Credits that expire in fourteen days. Limited time offer. See terms at pick six dot draftkings dot com slash promos. ------------------------------------------------- Music: “Shine” by Bishop Gunn Bishop Gunn - Shine ------------------------------------------------ Submit your funny videos, TikToks, questions and topics you'd like to hear on the podcast to: [email protected] Hit the Hotline: 985-664-9503 Video Hotline for Theo Upload here: https://www.theovon.com/fan-upload Send mail to: This Past Weekend 1906 Glen Echo Rd PO Box #159359 Nashville, TN 37215 ------------------------------------------------ Find Theo: Website: https://theovon.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/theovon Facebook: https://facebook.com/theovon Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thispastweekend Twitter: https://twitter.com/theovon YouTube: https://youtube.com/theovon Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheoVonClips Shorts Channel: https://bit.ly/3ClUj8z ------------------------------------------------ Producer: Zach https://www.instagram.com/zachdpowers Producer: Trevyn https://www.instagram.com/trevyn.s/ Producer: Nick https://www.instagram.com/realnickdavis/ Producer: Colin https://instagram.com/colin_reiner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:30Theo Von?

  Today's guest is the head coach at Ole Miss down in Oxford, Mississippi. Which is where we are taping today. He's helped take that program to new heights in the past five years. He's got his own group of fans called the Laney Axe. And it was great talking to him about his mentality on life, coaching and leadership. Today's guest is the one, the only, Lane Kiffin.

• 1:15Theo Von?

  Yeah, bro. So you invited, did you invite me to Pilates or you invited me to yoga?

• 1:19Speaker 03

  Yoga. Okay. Very big difference. Yeah. My daughter's actually a Pilates teacher, but yoga's like better, like the hot yoga part of it.

• 1:26Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:27Speaker 03

  The intensity, like make it so, so miserable. You know, that's what I do. I controlled the heat in the back.

• 1:32Theo Von?

  You do?

• 1:33Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:33Theo Von?

  At the yoga studio?

• 1:34Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:34Theo Von?

  Oh, that's great, man. Yeah. Does it remind you almost of game day out there on the field? Like, is it, cause it gets pretty, I mean, you're in the SEC, so it's really, this is really humid area.

• 1:43Speaker 03

  Yeah. So I make it that way too, like that we're playing like in the swamp or in, in Baton Rouge, like in our early September games. So it's like really hot. So you gotta like fight through it.

• 1:53Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:54Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:54Theo Von?

  Baton Ratchet, dude. That's what I call it.

• 1:56Speaker 03

  Yeah. I was trying to get you to go this morning. So then like you would have gone through the misery and the experience and then we'd like discuss it on air. So you'd be like, man.

• 2:04Theo Von?

  I did get my yoga in this morning though.

• 2:05Speaker 03

  Yeah, a little slower, a little different. Yeah.

• 2:07Theo Von?

  Yeah, yeah, I got it in at room temp.

• 2:10Speaker 03

  This isn't like traditional yoga, like flow, which that's good.

• 2:14Theo Von?

  Uh huh.

• 2:14Speaker 03

  And that's actually where I started with it. Then I was like, I gotta go to another level, like make this, put a heater in there, like make it as hot, intense. And then like put cardio in there. And I just like bringing new people to and then they struggle. So it makes me feel good about myself. Yeah, that's part of it.

• 2:29Theo Von?

  That's so. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that was me just a couple hours ago, getting it done with my Cat Williams statue right there.

• 2:34Speaker 03

  I didn't know what that was, like Nutcracker or something.

• 2:36Theo Von?

  Oh, yeah, that's a that's a statue of Cat Williams that they have. But yeah. So is that a big part of your like, is yoga like a regular part of your day usually or your week?

• 2:43Speaker 03

  Yeah, every day, every morning. It like starts my day that way. And so there's no phone for an hour, you know, and you gotta like, you gotta get uncomfortable. You gotta sit in it. So I figure if I can start my day, use it like six o'clock in the morning that way, and be so uncomfortable, that's the hardest part of my day. The rest of it, man, I can deal with the rest.

• 3:05Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 3:05Speaker 03

  And so that, you know, you just you get in those poses too, in those positions, you're just like, man, this is, I want to get out of this discomfort. So I gotta stay in the discomfort. And over time, just I'm able to stand it longer and longer and more intense with the heat. And I feel like the rest of the day, man, I'm just kind of like chill for the rest of the day.

• 3:24Theo Von?

  And what so the if the heat's been ramped up, what's the next thing you think you would add into to Lane Kiffin, like the Lane Kiffin yoga experience, which almost seems like people should wear pads to be at it, it seems like.

• 3:36Speaker 03

  Yeah. Well, we have playlists, so we got good music, good energetic music. We put some cardio in there now. And so we challenge the teachers, like come up with the hardest things possible. So they just like make this list of stuff like, you know, back when you were like young and you were like training in high school and they just put up all the all the different like three by 10, three by 15, like all these and keep going. And then like, some of the classes like are public. So we got students in there. We got other people in there. So and then we like, I feel like yeah, I'm trying. I'm trying to take Oxford to another level. So I'm like, I want for generations it to be tough.

• 4:10Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 4:10Speaker 03

  And so sometimes they're like, well, open the door. You know, I'm like, don't open the door, man. We like, keep them in the heat.

• 4:15Theo Von?

  Yeah, hold the line.

• 4:16Speaker 03

  Yeah. So then at the end, like, I'm like, guess what? We need overtime. Like last week, like it's March Madness. We need overtime. And everyone's like, no, no overtime.

• 4:25Theo Von?

  No overtime coach and I'm like, kick the field goal coach. We gotta get out of here.

• 4:28Speaker 03

  Yeah, we're making these kids tougher.

• 4:30Theo Von?

  Dang, I can't believe I, the fact that somebody's trying to start generational yoga is uh, that's next level, man. I guess that's Elaine Kiffin level, you know? And I like the fact, yeah, you hit me up on social media. I thought that was cool just to like, kind of welcome me into the area today. So I thought that was um, pretty cool. You kind of have like a notorious, you're kind of notorious on Twitter for like being like a unique, like kind of an outspoken coach. Would you say that's a fair term?

• 4:56Speaker 03

  Yeah, I would say very different.

• 4:58Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 4:58Speaker 03

  I looked at social media, when I started it was for recruiting because we weren't able to text because it was a dumb NCAA rule, like most of them. And

• 5:07Theo Von?

  You couldn't text them? Could you mail?

• 5:08Speaker 03

  Yeah, you could um, you could DM them. You could um, on Twitter, you could message them. You can message them.

• 5:14Theo Von?

  On Twitter, but you couldn't text them personally?

• 5:16Speaker 03

  Yes, made no sense.

• 5:17Theo Von?

  Right.

• 5:18Speaker 03

  So that's why it was started and then I just kind of started being a normal person. I was like, you know, I can't be a normal person as a coach in a lot of my life. So I was like, on social media, I'll just be normal. And then buddies start sending me stuff. I just retweet it. Or other coaches like in the SEC, like Kirby Smart, he all the time because he's politically correct. So he's like, got stuff he wants to put out there, but he's like, they just send it to me because they know I will. So I just kind of embraced it and ran with it.

• 5:45Theo Von?

  Yeah, I think it's uh, I think it separates you from some of the other guys out there, that's for sure. I think, yeah, it makes you seem a little bit more kind of crazy and personable at the same time, I think.

• 5:57Speaker 03

  The reason why I kept going with it was because I would go into home visits and these parents would say, or they'd come into my office, like when they're doing a campus tour and they would say to me like, Coach, we feel like we already know you. We love your social media. I love your Twitter. I love your Instagram. Like, we feel like we already know you. And I'm like, well, shoot, how much is that worth? That they're already coming to visit us, wanting their kid to go here, saying, we already know you because of it. So then I just kept going with that.

• 6:26Theo Von?

  Yeah, I mean, look, you're the only um, you're the only college coach that we wanted to meet up with. So this has kind of worked out. Yeah, I think it probably does have an effect, you know?

• 6:34Speaker 03

  I've made it. I feel like I've made it then.

• 6:37Theo Von?

  Well, no.

• 6:37Speaker 03

  College coach that Theo Von wants to do a show with.

• 6:41Theo Von?

  You don't lose your job by the time this is over then.

• 6:43Speaker 03

  That's the, that's the goal.

• 6:44Theo Von?

  That's the goal. Yeah.

• 6:45Speaker 03

  Fifty-five more minutes.

• 6:47Theo Von?

  Yeah, fifty-five more minutes. That's the goal. Um, is there a difference between the uh, kind of the Twitter lane? And, and I'm, I'm the one saying, putting you in a third person. I know you're not doing that. So, but is there a difference between the, kind of the Twitter personality? And the, the personality of the actual personality? Like, what's kind of like offline lane?

• 7:06Speaker 03

  I would say the Twitter is probably closer to it, you know, um, people that are around me all the time and stuff say like, what was out there early on especially about me or what people think really isn't what he is? And you probably hear that a lot, but yeah. So I feel like Twitter is more actually how I am just kind of, okay, that's funny. I'll just like say that or send that out, you know, like, and so,

• 7:31Speaker 03

  I'm, I'm not an old school coach in many regards at all, just because I think you should always evolve. You should always not do things because it was in a book of how to do it before and always kind of test things. You know, like around here, we say, you know, instead of just thinking outside the box, we create a new box. We challenge everything, different ways of thinking things. So, um, and social media is part of that because that's not, or how I do a press conference, or even doing this. Probably some coaches that even if they, if you did call them up for this, they wouldn't do it because, they'd say, okay, well, that's not really the message I want to put out, you know?

• 8:06Theo Von?

  Yeah. Yeah. Kim Mulkey won't text me back.

• 8:10Speaker 03

  I, I mean, that should be like a no brainer.

• 8:13Theo Von?

  That's what I'm thinking. In-state.

• 8:14Speaker 03

  I mean, you gotta have amazing, like Louisiana following, positive numbers. I don't know how they track that, but it's gotta be amazing. I mean, you're one of them.

• 8:23Theo Von?

  Yeah, I'm not at the Flauja Johnson levels yet. I'll get there though, I think. So why, why do you think like, cause yeah, you do have a unique personality, right? And you, at least your personality is able to be seen these days. And I think that that's something that just happens more over time with social media. And more just, we have more video of people in general now, you know? So there's just like so many more little moments that get captured. So you get to know somebody's personality. And that's how I think a lot of fans, they, I think they gravitate a lot more towards athletes, coaches, anybody really in the world, because they get to know their personality, right? We were talking before about social media and how that kind of like, like why people kind of gravitate towards certain people on social media. And I think some of that's, that's just kind of the answer. It's just, there's more out there.

• 9:07Theo Von?

  And if people are willing to show some of their personality and not kind of follow like this playbook of exactly how things are supposed to be, but remain within HR.

• 9:18Theo Von?

  HR has a box you have to stay in pretty much.

• 9:20Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 9:20Theo Von?

  But um, I think, I don't know if I'm, it don't make any sense?

• 9:24Speaker 03

  As a head coach, you got a lot of people that you've got to please.

• 9:28Theo Von?

  Right.

• 9:29Speaker 03

  And that's challenging in these type of settings, these things. Cause you want to talk to recruits in that age group, your current players, your fans. But then you also have administration. You've got old donors that have been around a long time, seen things done a certain way for a long time. So there's a lot of challenges in that.

• 9:49Speaker 03

  And you can't, you can't please everybody, which um, you know, so I've kind of, right or wrong, I've always said, hey, my job is to wherever I'm working at. Meaning my job is to Ole Miss and not to potential future presidents or ADs at other places or other fanbases. And so whether I was at Tennessee or USC or here, wherever I was, it was like, okay. A lot of what I say, other fans don't like. Maybe even other athletic directors are like, well, I don't like that he said that. But our own fans, our own administration really like it because it's usually me backing Ole Miss and saying what I think about the program, what it should be.

• 10:32Speaker 03

  And maybe sometimes taking shots at other programs or something like that. Factual information.

• 10:38Theo Von?

  Blatantly.

• 10:39Speaker 03

  You know, and putting it out there. And so that that upsets some people and upsets a lot of other fan bases. Well, that's not my job to worry about them.

• 10:49Theo Von?

  Yeah, you have one fan base.

• 10:51Speaker 03

  Yeah, they're not, they didn't hire me, they're not paying the bills. So I've always looked at, and I think a lot of coaches don't do that. And I'm not saying I'm right. A lot of coaches say, hey, I'm going to say things so that future employers, potential that they see it. So then they're going to want to hire me. And I've just never thought that way.

• 11:09Theo Von?

  Do you, um.

• 11:12Theo Von?

  You already had two experiences like coaching in the SEC, right? At Alabama and at Tennessee?

• 11:20Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 11:21Theo Von?

  Like, how's it been different here at Ole Miss? Because, I mean, you know, some people call it the Yale of Mississippi, kind of.

• 11:27Speaker 03

  Well, I think, you know, I was, as you mentioned, the head coach of Tennessee, then office coordinator at Alabama. So spent some time there. And those programs really, over a long period of time, had won a lot of games. Alabama unbelievable championship runs, Coach Saban, probably a, you know, a decade there that's never going to be done ever again.

• 11:51Theo Von?

  Yeah, too many wins, I think, for a school, not good for them at a certain point, but.

• 11:55Speaker 03

  Well, we're not, not good for competitive environment throughout the conference when he was taking all the players and winning all the games now.

• 12:03Speaker 03

  And Ole Miss had been down.

• 12:04Theo Von?

  Right.

• 12:05Speaker 03

  You know, somebody said a stat the other day, you know, in the last four years. So the seniors in college here, it's been a cool experience for them. They saw a national championship in baseball. You just saw both basketball teams go to the Sweet 16. And in four years of football here, we've had three top 12 finishes. Well, they only had one in the previous 51 years.

• 12:25Theo Von?

  Wow.

• 12:25Speaker 03

  So there's been four in 55 years, they've seen three of the four, so. The difference, obviously, in the programs was different, but I really liked that. It was like a challenge because you can come in at the top of a place that's kind of always won and then you win. It's like, okay, versus, wow, let's like, change what's happened. Let's like, create a new winning culture, a new way of thinking in how the locker room and the whole university thinks about football and the program. And so we've raised the expectations to where we won 10 games and people are upset around here, you know?

• 13:00Theo Von?

  Right.

• 13:00Speaker 03

  And so.

• 13:01Theo Von?

  Yeah, that's a different energy. You guys were 13 points away from, 13 more points and you guys are undefeated last year. 13 total. Well, you need three to win. So 16 more points last year and you guys would have been undefeated. That's pretty crazy.

• 13:13Speaker 03

  Yeah, we played 13 games, 10 of them. We won by double digits and then the three losses were all one score games, right at the end of the game.

• 13:21Theo Von?

  What's, what's kind of different between coaching, like in the Pac 10, or I think it's the Pac 12 or something now, where it keeps kind of like changing their names.

• 13:28Speaker 03

  Yeah, I don't think it exists anymore. It's like Pac 2 now.

• 13:31Theo Von?

  Yeah, Pac 2.

• 13:31Speaker 03

  It was like, it was eight at one point and it was 10 and it was 12.

• 13:36Theo Von?

  Some of those teams should not have been in there.

• 13:38Speaker 03

  And now there's like two. Everybody else left.

• 13:40Theo Von?

  What was it? Like, what do you notice different between coaching and like the pack, like a different conference as opposed to the SEC? Like, you coached at FAU, you coached at, you coached in the Pac 10, 2, 12, 8, you know? What's the difference, you think?

• 13:53Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 13:56Speaker 03

  You know, there's a saying like in the SEC day coin, like it just means more. And it really does. Like, the passion in the towns for the football programs, the attention on it, and really the play over time has been dominant. The SEC's had more draft picks, more championships, all those things. It's just different. It's a way of life down here.

• 14:22Theo Von?

  Oh, yeah. You let people that can't even read and they can, but they're just yelling, "Go Dogs." I feel if somebody come out of a coma and be like, "Go Dogs," or something, you know?

• 14:30Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 14:30Theo Von?

  Or somebody like come out of a coma and be like, "Hurry, hurry," and then just pass away, like people's last words, baby's first words. There's like 30 videos of baby's first words being like, "SEC chants," or whatever. It's a lot.

• 14:42Speaker 03

  I was the head coach at USC. You spend time out in LA. It's just a different world out there. And I remember I was walking through campus and I was like, Man, I bet like fifty, seventy percent of these students have no idea who I am. I'm the head coach of the football team. They got no idea who I am. They just, they're going to school at USC, you know, getting their education.

• 15:03Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 15:05Speaker 03

  And like here, that like, like 100% know who you are. You know, like the, the little kids, like the, you know, you go to like, walk downtown and like a four year old's like, Coach Kiffin. Like they know who you are. So it's like, they'll complain about your play calling.

• 15:23Theo Von?

  For people that haven't been down here, maybe that makes sense to them, like to understand that.

• 15:27Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 15:28Theo Von?

  You know, like you don't go anywhere without any, everybody knowing who you are, but also like that too. You know, right. Yeah. Yeah. They're like eight year old kid, maybe not four. They just say, go to hell, Kiffin.

• 15:38Speaker 03

  But eight year old, well, we've been winning, so don't say that. But that'll happen as soon as we lose a couple.

• 15:43Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 15:44Speaker 03

  But no, they, they do. They'll, they'll be like, Coach, man, like, what about throwing that tight end on the in route? I'm like, you're like eight. Like, how do you, how do you know that?

• 15:54Theo Von?

  Yeah. It's 11 a.m. What are you doing at this cafe? You should be in school. You should easily, obviously you're truant. But yeah, it's definitely, it's a lot more intense in the South. It's just, yeah, it's.

• 16:03Speaker 03

  Yeah. They're like, like, Coach, you're three for 14 on third downs. I'm like, I didn't even know that. And they do. But it's just, it just means more the passion for, and it's also why it's so awesome too. It's why the stadiums are the way that they are. The electricity before games as people walk into the stadiums. Like, it's just different. It's awesome.

• 16:21Theo Von?

  Yeah. Cause you guys have a walk. I mean, I think a couple of teams do a walk now. Do people ever try and tickle you or whatever when you walk by? Or that's crazy. That's something.

• 16:31Speaker 03

  Well, I like moved, I, this happened at Tennessee and then here. And maybe this isn't like the best thing, but I like moved it a little wider. Like they didn't have like barricades on the walk. And they're like, well, it's great, man. The fans are like, you interact with them. Like, well, this walk is like a half mile. Like you're walking through like 40,000 people.

• 16:50Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 16:51Speaker 03

  You know, and like, you gotta wear a suit and everything. And then like, they're like grabbing you and everything. And so I moved the barricades.

• 16:58Theo Von?

  There's people petting people, petting adults.

• 16:59Speaker 03

  Yeah. Like a little wider. Plus, I mean, we are in the deep South. So there's a lot of great things and. But I mean, there's just some different things too. Now, you know, they're like grabbing you and they got chew spit on her hands.

• 17:10Theo Von?

  I've never hugged a man. People just yelling and stuff like, yeah, there's a lot of.

• 17:13Speaker 03

  It's like, whoa, can we like move these just back a little bit? Maybe like, maybe I can just do the wave.

• 17:17Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 17:17Speaker 03

  You know, hey, guys, good to see you.

• 17:20Theo Von?

  Put the defensive tackles along the outside. Yeah, I agree. But you guys, yeah, it's definitely a ton of tradition here. I mean, this is like Morgan Freeman's front porch down here in the South. It's a slower lifestyle. Was that a little bit tough for you? I mean, what's, I mean, it is Mississippi is the, it's a, it is like wandering back through time, you know?

• 17:39Speaker 03

  Yeah, there's a lot there. Um, I can unpack there. Uh, yeah, I'm.

• 17:46Theo Von?

  I mean, it's a lot of history, a lot of tradition.

• 17:48Speaker 03

  And everything you're giving me is just full disclosure. Anyway, I moved here because it was SEC head job and I thought we could win and do a great job. It wasn't, I wasn't like, man, I want to move to like, I'm just really dying to move to Oxford, Mississippi.

• 18:01Theo Von?

  Right.

• 18:02Speaker 03

  But I also didn't know much about it either. So I judged it that way, just kind of like a lot of people do about Mississippi.

• 18:10Speaker 03

  And at first it was a lot because, because I'd spent most of my time before that in South Florida or in LA at USC. And I was like, at first I was like, whoo, this is a lot like, I mean, long winded, like a lot of conversations, slow moving.

• 18:29Theo Von?

  Oh, yeah.

• 18:30Speaker 03

  But then you say, thank you. Like it's not over.

• 18:33Theo Von?

  Right.

• 18:33Speaker 03

  Hey, hey, thank you. And then like, they just keep going.

• 18:36Theo Von?

  Yeah. Oh, yeah.

• 18:37Speaker 03

  Like, no, but no, really. Thank you. I really appreciate it. Like I'm going to go to go now. Oh, well, um, what are you? So what are you doing tomorrow? Um, I just met you like, you know, like.

• 18:49Theo Von?

  Oh yeah, you can make, everybody's a friend. Um, they, and there's also so many famous authors though, that that's why the South is so full of famous storytellers. Because everybody is one, you know?

• 19:00Speaker 03

  But then it took me some, I'm so glad that I've been here long enough now, five years going on the sixth year. And now I see it completely different. Now I go back to like South Florida or I go to LA and I'm like dang, these people are rude. Like everybody's moving fast. Everybody's just into themselves. Nobody's like saying hi. So it's like, what I thought really was kind of bad. Now I'm like, man, I love it now. You know, it's like a warmth, a sweetness, you know, hospitality and people being nice. And I've, and I've learned to, that's actually slowed me down. Cause I was always like, what job can I get? You know, how fast can I move? How many championships to win? Like just always moving.

• 19:43Speaker 03

  And I was like, maybe they're on to something here. Maybe this slow down thing that I was judging at first. Like I made jokes about the rocking chairs and people sitting rocking chairs.

• 19:51Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 19:52Speaker 03

  And I'm like, at first-

• 19:53Theo Von?

  Like the Charlotte airport or whatever.

• 19:55Speaker 03

  I saw that. Yeah, I did when I was, and I was like-

• 19:58Theo Von?

  You'll see somebody has a 40 second layover and they're like, I'm gonna get a little rest in.

• 20:01Speaker 03

  Yeah. And I'm like, I actually saw some right away and people were in them. And I said to somebody right away, I'm like, what are they doing? That looks miserable. Like, that's so slow. And there's just two of them. Sometimes one. Like, what are you doing? They don't even have their phone out. Like, what are you doing? And now I'm like, hey, they're on to something.

• 20:21Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 20:22Speaker 03

  Just slow down. And so I've kind of said, hey, maybe there's something to the Mississippi lane. I just slow down, taking conversations, listen to people instead of just always talking and moving. And, um, and now I love it.

• 20:37Theo Von?

  It's definitely like the program is, it feels a lot different, you know? My best friend has been in hiding for years. He's an Ole Miss like fanatic. He will sit there and, you know, he's betting on test scores. He's betting on all types of stuff. He's betting on SAT over unders for, you know, foreign exchange students. So he gambles as well, obviously, but now he's like out and proud kind of, you know? He's rocking that powder blue the past few years. He's really feeling the vibes, you know?

• 21:02Speaker 03

  So I had some cool, a couple of cool things happen like that where- I was with Landry, my daughter, at this.

• 21:08Theo Von?

  With Landry?

• 21:09Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 21:09Theo Von?

  Okay.

• 21:09Speaker 03

  At Gin Say, the sushi restaurant.

• 21:11Theo Von?

  Mm-hmm.

• 21:11Speaker 03

  And I'm at the restaurant with her and this, this kid comes up and senior in college. And she goes, she, and like the South, because women know the football just as much as the men.

• 21:23Theo Von?

  Oh, yeah.

• 21:24Speaker 03

  And she's like, I just want to thank you. She's like, my four years here have been amazing. Like, she's like, this was like a year ago, so her first year had been bad. So she's like, my four years, the first year, the team was bad, then you came, and then she's like, you totally changed my college experience. I'm like, dang, that's really cool. You know, that like, like you said, your buddy now like feels better about wearing an Ole Miss shirt. You know, there's like more pride into it, you know? So that's pretty cool that we've been part of that change and part of that experience for kids that like, now they're going to want to come back to games, you know? And so that's pretty cool.

• 22:00Theo Von?

  Oh, yeah. I mean, it's like, that's when you want to be there. You want to be there at the, uh, at the angle, you know? That's when you want to be there.

• 22:07Speaker 03

  Yeah, nobody wants to be like, man, when I was in college, man, our team sucked. Like, nobody went to the games, it was terrible, you know, like. So it's really cool that we've been part of that, again, coming into a place that had been down a little bit.

• 22:18Theo Von?

  Mm-hmm.

• 22:18Speaker 03

  That's another cool part of it.

• 22:20Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 22:20Speaker 03

  And also like the players too. When you come in and they've been losing, then the players in the locker room, you come in and they just embrace everything. And then you start winning and they're just so excited because they're not used to it.

• 22:32Theo Von?

  Hmm.

• 22:32Speaker 03

  And so that's a really cool thing about turning programs around and being in those locker rooms.

• 22:37Theo Von?

  To see that happen?

• 22:37Speaker 03

  Yes, to see their appreciation for that. Again, where if you're just coming in and places on top and they're just winning and they're just winning again, it's just, they just expect it. And so they're not as appreciative of those moments because they haven't had it taken away.

• 22:50Theo Von?

  Right. You're on a pretty famous like text chain with like other SEC coaches. This is alleged.

• 22:56Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 22:57Theo Von?

  Um, Kirby Smart, uh, Sarkisian. What are the vibes on the chain, I feel like? Like, what is it like on there?

• 23:04Speaker 03

  I feel like I keep it together, like I keep the group together because like one will beat the other or they'll say something and they kind of like get mad at each other and then they won't like text for a week if like you beat him then he doesn't text for a week or if they're playing each other that week, they certainly are going to say anything. And I'm like, guys.

• 23:21Theo Von?

  And by you beat him, it means you, when you guys beat Georgia last year, but go on, I feel it.

• 23:25Speaker 03

  But then I just say something that night, you know, like, hey, man, like, you'll probably get us next year, you know, like they don't like, they don't think that's funny, you know, like then one of them side texts me like, hey, man, you shouldn't have said that. Kirby's pissed off, you know? And I'm like, dude, it's just a game. Relax. We're buddies.

• 23:39Theo Von?

  Do you guys vote on how another coach gets into the text chain or what is the?

• 23:42Speaker 03

  Yeah, there's been conversations about that.

• 23:45Theo Von?

  Really?

• 23:46Speaker 03

  Um, I just kind of, I actually have a, they may not know this. We're giving a lot of information out today. Appreciate you coming. So, you know, kind of give you some special insight. I have multiple ones. So sometimes I'll say something, that guy's not in it and that guy's, you know, then this guy's in it. And so like, I kind of make sure I know who's in them, you know, when I say certain things and then, you know, every once in a while I've got someone who does something and then I like, I move them out of the chat.

• 24:17Theo Von?

  No.

• 24:18Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's, it's happened, you know? Jimbo Fisher removed from chat.

• 24:22Theo Von?

  R I P.

• 24:24Speaker 03

  And then like, then I like put them back in.

• 24:26Theo Von?

  Yeah, but and, and.

• 24:27Speaker 03

  And they're like typical coaches. They don't know how to remove somebody or add somebody. So it's like pretty cool that I can do it. And they're like, how do you do that?

• 24:35Theo Von?

  Yeah. Yeah. Lane's one of them tech wizards. Yeah.

• 24:38Speaker 03

  Yeah. Yeah. Coaches are a little behind time. That's a big deal to be able to remove somebody from chat. Like, whoa, he must really like have somebody teaching him this stuff.

• 24:45Theo Von?

  Who is, uh, who's the most mysterious SEC coach to you, do you think?

• 24:55Speaker 03

  Maybe Brian Kelly, speaking of LSU, you know, like I like Brian.

• 25:01Speaker 03

  Not a South guy, you know, kind of came in.

• 25:05Speaker 03

  And so I think maybe people don't

• 25:09Speaker 03

  really understand him.

• 25:12Speaker 03

  You know, he's just kind of, he's a little bit different. Then maybe your traditional like Kirby Smart, he's like born and raised SCC.

• 25:23Theo Von?

  Oh yeah, he cuts his own hair.

• 25:26Speaker 03

  It looks, it looks like it. He really does. I'm totally putting that in.

• 25:30Theo Von?

  Oh, I don't know. It definitely looks like somebody ran a slant with some scissors across his forehead.

• 25:35Speaker 03

  Yeah, like a bowl.

• 25:35Theo Von?

  Oh, it's unbelievable. And here's the thing.

• 25:38Speaker 03

  He still has the same haircut from when he was like playing. It's like it never changed.

• 25:40Theo Von?

  And it's a children's bowl. Get an adult bowl. What kind of, what kind of dishware are you guys using at the salon? No, and actually beautiful man there too. I wanted to say that Kirby.

• 25:50Speaker 03

  Oh, there you go.

• 25:51Theo Von?

  But yeah, like, well, Brian Kelly, they also put him on that lazy Susan. Remember when he first came in? It's like, um, and that's a, it's a tough.

• 25:59Speaker 03

  I retweeted that.

• 26:00Theo Von?

  You what?

• 26:01Speaker 03

  I retweeted that like when he did that thing. Yeah. He was with a quarter. It was terrible.

• 26:06Theo Von?

  I thought this was for a strip club, to be honest with you. I thought this was for.

• 26:09Speaker 03

  Yeah, I think I wrote something like, do you actually know they're filming you? Like, did you put this out on purpose?

• 26:16Speaker 03

  Like you, you know, they're going to film you when you're doing this?

• 26:20Theo Von?

  I thought this was a gender reveal and I was like, well, what are we, what is it?

• 26:24Speaker 03

  Yeah. And it's not like his, his like first one, he did it like the year before. I'm like, do you realize you're like kind of grinding on the dude?

• 26:31Theo Von?

  This was also a strip club advertisement near Natchez, Mississippi, I think as well. No judgment outside of there. I've spent time there, but yeah, maybe Brian Kelly is kind of mysterious. I think also maybe it's just because he's from, he hadn't, had he coached in the SCC before or not?

• 26:45Speaker 03

  No, I don't think so.

• 26:46Theo Von?

  And he's a nice guy.

• 26:47Speaker 03

  Like at Notre Dame, like you're at Notre Dame and then you're like LSU.

• 26:51Theo Von?

  I know.

• 26:52Speaker 03

  I mean.

• 26:53Theo Von?

  I know. I mean, you went from heaven to.

• 26:56Speaker 03

  Yeah, that's just like, that's as big a change as you can have. South Bend to Baton Rouge.

• 27:01Theo Von?

  Oh, yeah.

• 27:02Speaker 03

  And the SCC and so.

• 27:05Theo Von?

  Oh yeah, dude. South Bend, just down there into the Mr. Weatherall belt? Yeah, I think that's about, I don't think they make a bigger change in that.

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• 29:16Theo Von?

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• 30:32Theo Von?

  The SEC has historic venues, right? And a lot of historic, a lot of like, one thing that's interesting about the SEC is you'll have people that didn't go to college, but they will show up at the games as if it's their school. And that doesn't happen like in as many other places. It just does not happen. You have people who can't read, people who can't see, but they'll, they'll show up and watch a game somehow. Um, and you don't see that in other conferences.

• 30:58Speaker 03

  So that totally happens. And I, I remember, so my first taste of the South was going to Tennessee as the head coach. And I'm coming from, I was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders and then I've been at USC before this. I'm like coming from California to like Tennessee. And I remember I'm like, there's a lot of people, they have a spring game. There's like 70,000 people here at the spring game, like 50,000 there two hours before. And they're like, yeah, at the, at the big games, like the thing will sell out. Then there'll be another 20,000 outside. And I'm like, I went to school and like, no.

• 31:33Theo Von?

  No, don't get it.

• 31:34Speaker 03

  No. And then when I went to Alabama, the same thing. They're like, no, half these people didn't go to school there. They just, they lived in the state at one point. So they, it's their team. It's not because they went to school there and like, their passion is unbelievable. And I'm like, wait, you didn't even go to school here? No.

• 31:51Theo Von?

  No.

• 31:52Speaker 03

  No.

• 31:52Theo Von?

  I didn't go to school at all, so.

• 31:54Speaker 03

  But, but my dad knew somebody that did.

• 31:55Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 31:56Speaker 03

  I'm like, wait, your dad went? No, he didn't either. So no one in your family ever went?

• 32:00Theo Von?

  No, sir.

• 32:01Speaker 03

  To Alabama?

• 32:02Theo Von?

  No, sir.

• 32:03Speaker 03

  But you, like your whole week, your whole year is affected whether they win or lose. Like just angry the rest of the year, whether they win or lose that like Alabama Tennessee game.

• 32:13Theo Von?

  Yes, sir.

• 32:14Speaker 03

  That's it.

• 32:14Theo Von?

  Yes, sir.

• 32:15Speaker 03

  But it doesn't impact you like your job? Do you work for it? No.

• 32:19Theo Von?

  I don't work, sir. But I cheer for the tide.

• 32:23Theo Von?

  I mean, they got that one guy that, uh, Roll Tide Willie now, and he's, uh, he was in the military with my dad's buddy, but, um, what is, what, what's your favorite place to play? Do you think in the SCC outside of Alt Hemingway?

• 32:35Speaker 03

  Well, I don't know about favorite, because favorite would be like.

• 32:38Theo Von?

  Anarchal, right? It's anarcho for you guys.

• 32:39Speaker 03

  Yeah, you know, like favorite might be somewhere really easy, like no, the, the most intense places.

• 32:46Theo Von?

  Yeah. Or just which one of you get out there and you're like, man, this is fricking majestic. How about that? Let's use that word.

• 32:53Speaker 03

  This is why you have like such a different audience of like so many different areas of, because like you use big words too.

• 33:00Theo Von?

  Oh, yeah.

• 33:01Speaker 03

  Like, yeah, you're educated.

• 33:02Theo Von?

  Majestic. M U A.

• 33:05Speaker 03

  Majestic.

• 33:06Theo Von?

  Now, yeah, what's a big?

• 33:07Speaker 03

  Neyland Stadium in Tennessee is like amazing. Like it's just, like when we would bring recruits there, it is majestic. Like there you go. Like, and then at night, and then there's the river and the boats. And then the intensity in there. So I was the head coach here at Ole Miss. We went to play at Tennessee. And it was like on from warmups. Like everyone was there, over a hundred thousand people. And there was like this hatred.

• 33:37Speaker 03

  Towards me, I felt like the Gladiator to movie, you know, like I was there getting ready for like a thumbs down, you know, like, let's kill him.

• 33:45Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 33:46Speaker 03

  And then it like.

• 33:47Theo Von?

  And it's probably 12,000 people are carrying weapons in there at that time.

• 33:50Speaker 03

  They had a real conversation with me during the week about bulletproof vests, like, but again, like, there's no way, guys, come on, man, it's football. And they're like, they're like three cops with me and everything like.

• 34:01Theo Von?

  Like it's deer season, sir.

• 34:03Speaker 03

  They didn't really do that, maybe like a golf ball, you know, they're gonna throw at me or a bottle or something. Yeah. So they're walking in and I was like, this is awesome.

• 34:11Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 34:12Speaker 03

  Like now I could feel.

• 34:14Theo Von?

  Ooh.

• 34:17Speaker 03

  Yeah, they were like chanting like, you know, like fuck Lane Kiffin. And like, that was actually like, felt kind of like intense and cool, like a hundred thousand people chanting that.

• 34:26Theo Von?

  Oh, yeah. If a bunch of people hate you at once, it's easier to go, it's easier to digest.

• 34:30Speaker 03

  And then they're like, the student section was like, hey, you know, last night we were with your wife. And I was like, man, that's pretty funny, like to come up with stuff, you know, like, so it was intense. And it was like, and it just kept building. So maybe like, everybody didn't hate me at the beginning, but then, you know, it's like a crowd, like storm, they feel it. And then the hatred just kept building. And then it was like, really close game at then, and then we won.

• 34:54Theo Von?

  You guys won?

• 34:55Speaker 03

  Yeah. And then they got pissed and they like threw things at me like golf ball. And like anything they could get like mustard.

• 35:01Theo Von?

  School books, which we need in Tennessee, first of all.

• 35:04Speaker 03

  They didn't, they didn't have school books.

• 35:05Theo Von?

  Okay.

• 35:06Speaker 03

  No mustard bottles.

• 35:08Theo Von?

  Oh, really?

• 35:08Speaker 03

  How do you even have a mustard bottle? You just brought that to the game? Like, hey, hey, I'm like, go to the game and sneak the mustard bottle in.

• 35:15Theo Von?

  Oh, you're in the damn condom and belt over there in Tennessee, brother.

• 35:17Speaker 03

  Is it mustard free? Like?

• 35:21Speaker 03

  Like, are you saving money?

• 35:22Theo Von?

  Oh, you should see where they keep their relish at, brother.

• 35:26Speaker 03

  And the golf, like, and I was like, they throw this golf ball to became famous that like, they throw at me and I'm like, afterwards, I'm like, okay. muster like, okay, what am I sneaking in to the game? A golf ball, like, what do you have a golf ball for? Like, I'm carrying a golf ball? Cause I don't think they're thinking I'm gonna throw it, like, I'm gonna be pissed off in the fourth quarter and throw it.

• 35:47Theo Von?

  Right, they just had it on them.

• 35:48Speaker 03

  Yeah, but then I looked closer, it was a range ball, so I feel like, you know what it was? It's like the cheap guy that like steals the range ball, so like, okay, this way I don't like have these to hit, like, you know, instead of like having to buy a golf ball, so I'm gonna steal the range ball, like, for next time I go and play around, so it was just in his pocket, that was my guess.

• 36:04Theo Von?

  I, I think that's probably accurate. Oh, there you are, I can with it. Oh, that's pretty cool.

• 36:08Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 36:10Theo Von?

  Did you keep that?

• 36:11Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 36:11Theo Von?

  You still have it?

• 36:12Speaker 03

  I did.

• 36:12Theo Von?

  Hell, yeah, dude, that's cool. How scary is it, how quick do you wanna get off the field when you beat a team in their stadium? Is there a weird energy there for a little, like, is it kind of?

• 36:21Speaker 03

  That one was, yeah. Yeah, that one definitely was. Most of the time, it's not really, sometimes I kinda like it, you know, like, kinda walk off a little slow, you know, just so like you feel that, like, that win, that you just like ruined a hundred thousand people's, like, especially in the SCC, like, week, not just day.

• 36:39Theo Von?

  Oh, yeah, their traffic home. Yeah, that's a lot. And especially a woman who was gonna give birth that week, cause her husband would be in a good mood, and now they gotta, she's gotta hold it another week. That's the toughest part.

• 36:52Speaker 03

  Okay, we, we cannot have, we've lost this week.

• 36:54Theo Von?

  Yeah, we ain't having a baby under these circumstances.

• 36:56Speaker 03

  You keep it in there.

• 36:56Theo Von?

  Yeah, yeah, uh-huh, hold the line, honey.

• 36:59Speaker 03

  We got Bama next week, we win that, you can have it Saturday night.

• 37:02Theo Von?

  We'll, we'll get that thing out. We'll do the tush push, that'll help. What's one of the most aggravating traditions that you think, and what's one of the best traditions you think in college football?

• 37:14Theo Von?

  If you're even up on them, I know there's a tribe of them out there.

• 37:17Speaker 03

  Well, this is like a big tradition, like, as far as everywhere, not specific places, like, I, I love the band thing. You know, before, like, it's just really cool when they have the band out there and they spell things. Speaking of the Tennessee, the opening of the tee and then run out, like, that was really cool to like see, you're like right there, and then like the band just opens up the tee and you run out, like, that's, that's a really cool tradition.

• 37:41Theo Von?

  And is there one that's kind of aggravating that you see at a place somewhere? It could be SCC or anywhere.

• 37:48Speaker 03

  The fan storming thing is a little bit tough, you know, like, They don't do it in the NFL. They found a way like, I get it. It's pretty cool.

• 37:59Speaker 03

  But then it can be aggravating because like they're storming and like, and you're worried about like, I'm hitting you. What's going on? What are they going to do? It's like very, yeah, very invasive at that point, but um,

• 38:13Speaker 03

  I think like if they could just let everybody out and then let the fans out so they still get to tear the goalpost down because that's cool and stuff.

• 38:19Theo Von?

  Yeah. Yeah. I was at that old, at the Alabama Vanderbilt game and that was pretty sick and some guy on the sideline squeezed me so hard, bruised one of my ribs really bad or dislocated it, right? So I was like,

• 38:32Theo Von?

  doing like that or whatever. And then every other player kept hugging me. So it was just, after just one after the other, just the biggest guys you ever even seen just hugging you.

• 38:42Speaker 03

  Yeah, they're all excited.

• 38:44Theo Von?

  Yeah. And it was just, oh dude, it was, that was a really tough day. It was a tough year, actually. That took about eight weeks to get better from.

• 38:51Speaker 03

  Yeah, but you read a historic like moment.

• 38:53Theo Von?

  It was so cool.

• 38:54Speaker 03

  That will probably never happen ever again.

• 38:57Speaker 03

  It's a once in a lifetime.

• 38:58Theo Von?

  Well, Diego Pavia got that sixth year, that eighth year, I think he got.

• 39:01Speaker 03

  Yeah, you never know.

• 39:02Theo Von?

  Did that, uh, were you surprised when he got that? Did it affect any of the way that, were your players able to apply for anything like that?

• 39:08Speaker 03

  Uh, we tried. We didn't win it. Um, Jack Star actually tried to get another year, um, or at least see if the option was there and, um, you know, they denied it, but.

• 39:18Theo Von?

  Yeah, there we are. We iced that dude up. Clark Lee.

• 39:23Speaker 03

  Good dude.

• 39:24Theo Von?

  I like, I love Clark.

• 39:25Speaker 03

  Yeah. He is a good guy.

• 39:27Theo Von?

  They got a fun group over there and that's kind of underdog energy over there too, you know?

• 39:31Speaker 03

  Big time.

• 39:31Theo Von?

  Is there an SEC team that you also cheer for on the low kind of?

• 39:35Speaker 03

  Them. I do. Yeah. Vanderbilt. Cause I think they have like so much stacked against them, you know, like they got higher academic qualifications to get guys in. So they can't just get all the players, everybody else can, you know, like. Harder, you know, because the stadium is usually half full and stuff. So I root for them, especially Clark, because that's a hard job.

• 39:55Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 39:55Speaker 03

  And so that's, that's pretty cool for them to win like they did this year.

• 39:59Theo Von?

  Yeah, it's exciting over there. Yeah, they carried the goalpost and then they tried to valet park the goalpost. I heard they got tired of it or whatever.

• 40:05Speaker 03

  Didn't know that.

• 40:06Theo Von?

  And they tried to valet him at a restaurant. I'm like, you can't, who are you going to give it to those three guys up front? Or whatever? Like, that's crazy.

• 40:12Speaker 03

  Yeah, but that might be the only like SCC town that has valet.

• 40:14Theo Von?

  That's a good, that's.

• 40:16Speaker 03

  Like, when you say that, that doesn't feel, you know, valet in most East town, valet.

• 40:19Theo Von?

  That's a great point.

• 40:21Speaker 03

  Yeah, spell valet.

• 40:22Theo Von?

  Yeah. Yeah, they tried to valet him at a, um, I think at a, at a McCormick and Schmick's or something over there. So definitely kind of interesting. Um, I want to talk about, uh, Coach Saban. You worked with Coach Saban for a while and you guys have had like kind of a storied history.

• 40:38Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 40:38Theo Von?

  Over the years, I think. Um, have you, you guys still communicate?

• 40:41Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, we do. Um, he's not a big like text guy. Um, but we talk every once in a while.

• 40:50Theo Von?

  Is he, what is he? He's not text? He's like to write? Is he more written kind of or?

• 40:53Speaker 03

  No, you gotta call him.

• 40:55Theo Von?

  Okay.

• 40:55Speaker 03

  Um, he did just learn how in the last like two years to text. He had never texted before.

• 41:01Theo Von?

  Wow.

• 41:01Speaker 03

  Ever. Like when there's, I was assisting Coach there and he's just like, I'm not texting. Like he just refused. It was like that old school, like he's got those old school things that aren't changing. And, um, and then I like got a text like two years ago from that said, good luck or something like that. And I was like to the group, I was like, dude, I got a Saban text. Like this is amazing. This is like Bear Belt beating Alabama. Like this is supposed to happen. Never thought I'd see this day. And, um, and then Kirby's like, yeah, I got one or other this year too. Like he's like learned how to text. Just like you get one or two words, but, um, but that relationship's like.

• 41:40Speaker 03

  Almost in a way, kind of like how you can struggle sometimes, like maybe when you're in it with like a parent. And then you get out, like you get older and you get away, get out of the house. Yeah. And then you're like, dang, man, he, he was on to something. He, he was right on those things. So I look back and I was there for three years. And there was friction initially and I look back, there's all my, I'm the assistant. I, you know what I mean? Yeah. He's the head coach, you know, whatever he says goes. Oh yeah. You're supposed to keep it classy over there. And yes, and that's not, his way is very like, this is the way, like, there's not open discussions about it and stuff. And, and I was, I'd worked for Pete Carroll as assistant. So that's all I knew.

• 42:20Speaker 03

  And it's just totally different. So like you come in, you have an open conversation and you're questioning the process. No, I just was asking like, have we looked at this? You know, like, so I didn't really know how it worked right away. And so it took a little bit of time. Like he didn't want a lot of suggestions. No, no, no, no. It's not like the suggestion box. Like, hey, let me pull this. Oh, here, here's a good idea, you know, like, so it was, um, it was just something I wasn't used to that way. And so it took a little bit of time. But now that I look back, I'm like, okay, he was so strict on everything, kind of like in a parent way, like with his team, with the players, the coaches, like nothing, nothing changed. Even we won a national championship and there's 7:30 staff meeting the next morning. I'm like, what are we meeting on at 7:30 the next morning?

• 43:04Speaker 03

  He's like, we're behind, you know, because we won the championship, everybody else was recruiting and we're behind. And I was like, well, what are we doing? But now I look back and be like, that's why he is what he is. That's why he was so great. Cause it was like, the standard never changed, no matter what. And then that took me some time to understand too. Like when you, when we were winning and, and playing really well and coaching really well, he was harder on you. Cause he didn't want you to have relief syndrome, you know, like, oh man, we, we've made it. And I didn't really understand that. I saw, he was on the pivot like a month ago and I listened to it, my son Knox, and he talked about it in there.

• 43:42Speaker 03

  He'd never explained it to us, but it was interesting hearing, he said, most people are born with a relief syndrome. He wasn't. He just always had this way of thinking like, hey, you never relax, like, but most people are. So he went. Above and beyond to make sure people didn't have that like we'd win a game and then he comes in and just like rips us. Yeah. And we're like, man, we played great. Like coached great. That was because he was guarding against that because he knew that that could happen.

• 44:09Theo Von?

  Dang.

• 44:10Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 44:12Theo Von?

  He wasn't letting anything be a possibility.

• 44:15Speaker 03

  When I left, we'd won 26 straight games. So I only hadn't had many losses. But I do remember the three losses that we had over the three years. Like he actually after those was calm. Like that's when we didn't get ripped because he's like,

• 44:33Speaker 03

  they're gonna get ripped anyway. I don't need to, you know, like I need to when they're feeling good about themselves, bring him down. So I didn't really understand that at first. And now I look back going, man, he was, there's a reason he's the greatest.

• 44:46Theo Von?

  Wow. Yeah. Do you regard him as the greatest? Yeah?

• 44:49Speaker 03

  I do. I think because, you know, DeBarr Bryant, so like legends back then, no offense, they had like unlimited scholarships. Coach Saban did it in an era where there were reduced scholarship numbers. He also did an era when you're losing coaches left and right. You know, he lost so many assistant coaches and he just kept winning. And I don't think anybody will ever be able to do that again. And he couldn't even do that again, the way that it's going anyway. And now this with the money part and all that stuff, that's, that's like evening things out that people can't stack the teams like he did. Because now your second team and third teams, maybe before where they had to

• 45:30Speaker 03

  sit there and wait, they, they couldn't leave back then. Now they leave. So you lose your backups because someone gives them more money and.

• 45:37Theo Von?

  But how was he able to convince players to sit there, be just as good and sit second or third position? That's tough. I feel like.

• 45:42Speaker 03

  Yeah. Well, that's what I'm saying. Part of his time, they couldn't leave yet. Oh, you couldn't transfer. Now you can transfer twice, twice a year. So he still was able at the end to convince some guys to stay, but he started losing. So the teams weren't as deep.

• 45:57Theo Von?

  Did he have to recruit the whole time? Or at a certain point, did he, did the acumen of their coach, of their winning just to be the recruiter for him? Do you think?

• 46:04Speaker 03

  That helped a lot, but he never changed. That was him. Like there was no relief. It never changed. Like he recruited every day, no matter what. And he was nonstop. And he's relentless. People always say, okay, well, why did he win? So many championships. Why was he so good? And then it's like, well, there's the process. There's the assistant coaches. There's the discipline, all these different areas.

• 46:26Theo Von?

  Right.

• 46:27Speaker 03

  But really, the number one thing that mattered the most, he out recruited people. He got better players. When you get better players, you win a lot of games. And it wasn't, they weren't just coming there just to come there. They came there because he recruited really hard.

• 46:40Theo Von?

  Got it. Did he, what was he like? I mean, did you ever get to spend any time with him? Like, was he good at cards or anything like that? Or was he, did he do anything else besides? Like, did he ever take his whistle off, you think? Like, even in the shower, you know?

• 46:54Speaker 03

  Coach didn't do a lot of other things. I know he golfed. I never golfed with him, but he golfed.

• 47:00Theo Von?

  Did he ever invite you? Or like, did he ever dress up for Halloween? Like, was there anything you ever saw Coach Saban do that was like, felt a little bit more not as much like, um, who's that guy, Robert Downey Jr.? What's the character he plays? Iron, that was outside of Iron Man, you know?

• 47:18Speaker 03

  It's interesting. You know, Nick Saban, and people joke Nick Satan, you know, he was born on Halloween.

• 47:23Theo Von?

  Was he really?

• 47:25Speaker 03

  His birthday every year is Halloween.

• 47:26Theo Von?

  No.

• 47:26Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 47:27Theo Von?

  So maybe his whole frickin' existence was a costume.

• 47:30Speaker 03

  Maybe. But he did not, there was not, he wasn't gonna wear a costume or something like that on Halloween. So there was no like, he didn't have like Halloween parties and stuff.

• 47:40Theo Von?

  On your own birthday, even put on a little cattail or something?

• 47:46Speaker 03

  Because it was, no day was different. Every day was the same.

• 47:49Theo Von?

  Wow.

• 47:49Speaker 03

  I will say this, I went to Easter one time at his house. And my kids, they were still living in California with my wife. And, because I took the Alabama job, and then they came for Easter.

• 48:01Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 48:02Speaker 03

  And he invited us over. And we went over there. And he was different. Now, he didn't put on like a bunny costume. But like, he was helping the kids with like the Easter eggs, and he had one grandkid at the time. And he was like carrying around and like, and it was totally different than the office Nick Saban that we would see all the time. You know, like, so that was pretty cool to see that side of him. Now, he's also so competitive that he. His grandkid was like one and all of a sudden the grandkid found the golden egg, you know, like while he was with coach way over there, you know, so coach also was gonna make sure that he won.

• 48:39Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 48:39Speaker 03

  But it was pretty cool to see him like that.

• 48:42Theo Von?

  Yeah. Yeah. You gotta be different. You can't, when Jesus is making a comeback, you can't play defense on that day. You know, that's when you gotta just call the dogs off, I feel like. But it is definitely skeptical that a one-year-old found a golden egg. Was he playing against other ki- of kids, like of age children?

• 48:59Speaker 03

  Yeah, mine were like eight, 10 and 12.

• 49:01Theo Von?

  Oh, God.

• 49:04Theo Von?

  That's sad. But yeah, winners win, you know, that's what they say. Do you think that Coach Saban misses coaching?

• 49:11Speaker 03

  I do. I think that, and you mentioned that in that pivot podcast, but I did always think, okay, if he was gonna do this, he was gonna have to have, and I, and I used to say he's gonna have to kind of have that college game day spot. Cause he's gonna want to still like be involved, you know, he's just so wired to all day long to do something for his entire life. Now he, he, he's not gonna sit around and just, you know, be a grandpa.

• 49:36Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 49:36Speaker 03

  That's not him. So I think because of that, that's helped a lot. I wouldn't actually be surprised if he came back in the NFL even, you know, as head coach. Because he just, he's so good at it and so in him that I'm not sure he won't come back.

• 49:53Theo Von?

  What, um, I want to talk about the NIL and then I want to talk about your team and, uh, and Ole Miss here. Does, um, God, I sound like a sports guy or something. What am I even doing today?

• 50:02Speaker 03

  Yeah, you're getting really like, um,

• 50:04Theo Von?

  I know.

• 50:04Speaker 03

  I feel like going into this, I was gonna, we were gonna go a lot of different directions and now you've come back to like, I think people will probably have turned off by now.

• 50:12Theo Von?

  I know.

• 50:12Speaker 03

  Oh dude, hey, tell us about your, uh, depth at safety this year. How do you guys feel about third down package?

• 50:22Speaker 03

  Nobody wants to hear that.

• 50:23Theo Von?

  I don't know. My first down package is pretty small. I'll tell you that. That's an old weiner joke.

• 50:28Speaker 03

  See, then here we go. Now we're more.

• 50:31Theo Von?

  There we go.

• 50:31Speaker 03

  Yes, they're turning back on.

• 50:33Theo Von?

  I want to tell you about the, like NIL, do you have to spend more time recruiting players or boosters these days with NIL?

• 50:39Speaker 03

  Yeah, a lot of booster part because they got to get their resources to pay. Now that's going to get a little bit moved now with revenue sharing and coming from the school. But these last few years has been, okay, well, the boosters have to create these collectives and have to source the money to pay the players. So if you don't have the money, you don't have the payroll, it's hard to get players. And if you see, it's not hard. Look at who just won in basketball, the programs that made the final four. Look at what, you know, the final four college football teams, like they're, they're major programs that have a lot of financial resources. So, um, yeah, you gotta, you gotta do a lot of that and then you gotta convince the players.

• 51:20Speaker 03

  Now where it's different is the old school, unfortunately, kind of the old school recruiting of the relationships and having a relationship three years since the kid was a sophomore in high school and stuff. It's not as important anymore because now like, okay, well, what are you paying me? You know, the school's this, the school's this, the school's this. And most of them usually go to the higher, higher number.

• 51:43Theo Von?

  And is that just a real question out of the gate is what is the offer?

• 51:45Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 51:46Theo Von?

  Wow. And do most of them have agents or they have to do that directly by themselves?

• 51:50Speaker 03

  Yeah, they now, it's now just transitioned to where most of them have agents now.

• 51:53Theo Von?

  That's trash.

• 51:54Speaker 03

  It's really, you know, we're in my office right here. So I sit here all the time and the recruits sit over there where your guys are and the parents and I saw this to our staff the other day, like I've sat in so many of these meetings, like whatever, say the last hundred. And you know, I never hear anymore. What's your graduation rate? I never hear anymore. Like what's the academic plan? And it's just kinda sad. These are the parents, which is what it is. And then I go, okay, well, when's our NIL meeting?

• 52:23Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 52:24Speaker 03

  What's the number? What's the second year number? Like, I'm not mad about it, but it's just kinda sad.

• 52:30Theo Von?

  Yeah, you just recognize.

• 52:30Speaker 03

  And, and, and I'm also recognizing it to say, I don't believe long-term that's good for the kids. So this, this has been great for players to make some money, but it's so much money and it's so much focus on the money. That then it's like, okay, well then what's next? If I already getting the money when I'm 18, then, then what?

• 52:49Theo Von?

  Right.

• 52:49Speaker 03

  You've seen this all the time. People get too much too early and then what? They crash. So.

• 52:55Theo Von?

  Crash out.

• 52:56Speaker 03

  Yes. And I feel like we're creating a lot of that in this. And now a kid's sitting there listening to his parents at, and they wanna know the money like. So what's the kid supposed to wanna know?

• 53:05Theo Von?

  Yeah, it's crazy. I agree. That's bonkers, dude. I, yeah, if I'd had some money, I'd have fucking left school the second you gave me that chat. I'd have driven across country and got me some damn dope, boy.

• 53:18Speaker 03

  But I'm sure at that time you thought, man, if I just had a million dollars, man, I'd have no problems.

• 53:23Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 53:24Speaker 03

  Yeah. Then life would be great. I heard all the time with these players, I just get money, man. Players, I hear from adults. I get money, man, all my problems. Then I'll be good. Okay. We'll see.

• 53:36Theo Von?

  We'll see.

• 53:36Speaker 03

  Now I go in the homes and recruiting over all these years.

• 53:39Theo Von?

  Mm-hmm.

• 53:40Speaker 03

  I see the most problems in the families with the most money.

• 53:43Theo Von?

  Hmm.

• 53:44Speaker 03

  Most money, most success. And then I don't feel any warmth in that room. I don't feel the connection with the kids like. And then I'll go to a house here in Mississippi or Louisiana, you know, and there'll be 10 people living in this two-bedroom house. And you just feel like the warmth and like the closeness and everything. And they ain't got hardly anything financially.

• 54:04Theo Von?

  Mm-hmm.

• 54:05Speaker 03

  But then they have this love and this family and I, I've just done this for a long time and I see it usually the other way around. Bigger the houses, the more cars, the more money.

• 54:17Theo Von?

  The more problems.

• 54:19Theo Von?

  Yeah. Yeah, that's what they said. Jay-Z said it, didn't he? Biggie said it. Somebody, yeah, whoever said it got murdered. I remember that. Um, you know, April is financial literacy month. And that makes me think, well, how did I first learn about money? Well, I guess, um, well, I got a little job that a lady paid me to catch these cats she had. And she gave me a little bit of money and I would take that money and I would store it. I had one of those Crown Royal bags, one of the purple bags that came in and I'd put all my money in there and save it. Today's episode is sponsored by Acorns.

• 55:02Theo Von?

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• 55:42Theo Von?

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• 56:28Theo Von?

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• 57:11Theo Von?

  Break the mold and your own ritual. Get ready for summer with extraordinary hydration from Liquid IV. Get 20% off your first order of Liquid IV. When you go to liquidiv.com and use code Theo at checkout. That's 20% off your first order with code T H E O at liquidiv.com. What's one of the biggest things that keeps players that are good players from succeeding? Do you find?

• 57:42Speaker 03

  Hmm, hmm, their minds.

• 57:45Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 57:45Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, a lot of them run fast, jump, throw. And it's their minds and then getting in their own way. You know, and then here comes this, now you got money too. Here comes this ego coming in because I'm a five star. I got all these scholarship offers, like the entitlement of that and the ego comes in and out. Now they got the money too. So it's like, they had this drive to get to the NFL because they want to play in the NFL. They want to get the money. Well, I'm getting the money already. So now that's, now I've lost some drive there.

• 58:14Theo Von?

  Right.

• 58:15Speaker 03

  And they just get in their own ways, you know, and they get so much attention so early and so much. And then it's like, they just think it's gonna last forever.

• 58:26Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 58:27Speaker 03

  And they just like, they just screwed up. So they get in their own ways.

• 58:31Theo Von?

  Damn.

• 58:32Speaker 03

  And it's usually that one word ego.

• 58:35Theo Von?

  Um, what's the craziest thing a player's ever asked you for? It's like point blank. Have they ever been like, I need a, uh, give me a Jaguar coach or something like that? Like the animal or the car?

• 58:46Speaker 03

  Not the animal. Um, I wouldn't say cra- like, I don't have a good story, like a crazy thing, you know, like.

• 58:54Speaker 03

  But it just, what continues to blow my mind nowadays is they want more when they haven't done anything new. Meaning like, okay, here's what I got. I got this to come, you know, to transfer to come out of high school. And then they come in like, okay, well, I need more. And I'm like, well, you didn't do anything. Like, you didn't have a good year. Well, why, why would you get more? Like, it's just that mindset of like, I just deserve more. Like, I deserve more and more because there's no, there's no appreciation in there for where they're at. Or like, man, I gotta play better to get more. Just, I'm supposed to get more. And that happens all the time. There's two transfer portal windows. So like, if you could negotiate your contract twice a year, every

• 59:38Speaker 03

  year, but then for six months, you haven't done a show. You haven't done anything. But after that six month period, you want a new contract and a new deal, bigger than what you had, but you hadn't done anything. Yeah. Or maybe you screwed the shows up. Right. Through interceptions, but you still want more. So it's just, and it's not even their fault. There's the parents. Now you got agents, like. Do you still feel like a coach? Or do you feel like a banker more? Hmm. Hmm. It's not really like a banker, but you, you spend so much time not coaching. And I think that's part of the Nick Saban, and you know, getting out. It's just like, it just changed, you know, because these conversations, these things, and you see the like greed for it,

• 1:00:17Speaker 03

  you know, like, but it's, it's a, it's unique because from someone that's been fortunate to make money, have success, get to the highest levels, like, it's like, I keep trying to tell them, like, that's not going to be the answer. Right. Like, that new contract, getting that much more money, isn't going to change anything. You're not going to, you know, be happier because of, but it's like, they don't. You can't hear it. Yes. Kids can't hear it. Cannot. I can sit in these two chairs right here to some, some, most of them, some will, but most of them, and they just look at me like, there's no way. And I'm like, listen to me until you fix these internal problems, until you fix how you think that everybody's against you,

• 1:01:01Speaker 03

  or whatever is these issues that they each have. And I'll try to like, work through them. And like, that, that money, that new contract, that next car, that next girl, like, that's not going to fix that. And like, If I get picked in the first round, I got that contract, everything is fixed.

• 1:01:17Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:01:18Speaker 03

  Coach, I don't care what you say.

• 1:01:19Theo Von?

  Type shit.

• 1:01:20Speaker 03

  Trust me.

• 1:01:21Theo Von?

  Yeah, they say it's all a rap. That's, yeah. Everybody thinks they'll have it figured out.

• 1:01:26Speaker 03

  I get more bands, it's good.

• 1:01:28Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:01:28Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:01:28Theo Von?

  Oh, yeah, boy, give me a grand right now.

• 1:01:32Speaker 03

  It's all I need.

• 1:01:33Theo Von?

  I run a 50 right now. I run a 6150. How fast is that?

• 1:01:38Speaker 03

  6150, we don't really grade in 50. You mean 40?

• 1:01:41Theo Von?

  I don't know.

• 1:01:43Speaker 03

  That's good. You confuse people. It might be good, it might be bad. I don't know if you're slow or fast. 6150.

• 1:01:49Theo Von?

  So what is some of your push for players to come here to Ole Miss these days? Like, what is it? You know, what do you sell them on about being here?

• 1:01:57Speaker 03

  Yeah, this is a really cool place to go to school. And so I got to see that as a parent. My daughter Laney is a sophomore here, so.

• 1:02:04Theo Von?

  Oh, yeah, I've seen her on TikTok before. I've seen y'all on there doing makeup or whatever?

• 1:02:07Speaker 03

  Yeah. Yeah, like, just like I said, the social media thing, I kind of live like a young person in a lot of ways, like, just enjoy.

• 1:02:17Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:02:17Speaker 03

  You know, like, I just try to have joy.

• 1:02:19Theo Von?

  It seems like kind of like sweet.

• 1:02:20Speaker 03

  Again, back to a lot of people, you're supposed to be old, you're supposed to be an adult, like, you can't do like a makeup TikTok with your daughter and like, I'm gonna be gone someday. I'm gonna be dead, or I'm gonna be at the end of it, you know? Those last couple of years, you think I'm gonna be like, man, I wish I would have spent, yeah. I think I'm gonna be like, man, I wish I wouldn't have done that with my daughter because some fans think that's like, I'm soft.

• 1:02:43Theo Von?

  Yeah, dude, I think a lot of, also a lot of, I bet four of the first round picks this year will be wearing blush.

• 1:02:51Speaker 03

  Like now they're wearing like nail polish and stuff.

• 1:02:54Theo Von?

  Have them wearing nail polish, eyeliner, booty liner, some guy had on the other day they caught him. Some guy, I think that played for Northwestern or Nickel State or something. But, um, and I'm like, what is that? Who's putting rouge on their butt cheeks, you know? So I think you're way safe here, Coach.

• 1:03:10Speaker 03

  But that's just kind of like how I like, I, and I don't know, you like, it seems like you have that too, where it's kind of like, man, we're supposed to be growing up and there's certain aspects we are, but then these other areas, it's like, you know, what's wrong with having youthful fun? And, you know, like, we go out, play pickleball and somebody's like, I see some old people look at me like, man, he's playing out there with his kids and like, he's like dancing to the music, you know, to like. Taylor Swift playing or something, you know, like, I'm like, why? Just because I'm like getting older and not supposed to like have fun?

• 1:03:39Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:40Speaker 03

  You know, or like when you come to yoga in the morning and like we're crushing you in yoga and I'm kind of like dancing back like talking shit, celebrating over you like, and if that happens in the morning, you might crush it in the morning. I don't know.

• 1:03:50Theo Von?

  I mean, look, I don't want, I don't want to have to do yoga or have to wear cleats is the only thing that I'm

• 1:03:54Speaker 03

  There's no cleats.

• 1:03:55Theo Von?

  Okay.

• 1:03:55Speaker 03

  No cleats.

• 1:03:55Theo Von?

  That's all I'm wondering. But no, I think you're right, man. Yeah. I think, well, it also goes back to what you said. It's like, you know, you don't like to follow this old playbook about things. You like to have this new playbook about things. What's kind of like part of that that you offer your players or people that want to come down here? Do you sell them like, hey, this is a team that's like, this is a program that's obviously it's gone, you know, the trajectory's gone up, you know, especially in the past five years for sure, in the past decade. Um, yeah. What do you kind of push them on? How do you get players to come here to Ole Miss? Cause it's always been a little bit more of the underdog in the SEC.

• 1:04:26Speaker 03

  Yeah. I think the kids really like, we create an atmosphere that you want to be at, not have to. Same with our employees. You know, like, I feel like in the morning, if you ask them when they're getting up and they're driving their cars over, whether it's players or staff, like they want to be here.

• 1:04:42Theo Von?

  Yeah. The GM had a damn zen in, I think.

• 1:04:44Speaker 03

  Yeah. Yeah. He does. He's working on it.

• 1:04:45Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:46Speaker 03

  He's trying to quit. He's trying to quit some other things.

• 1:04:47Theo Von?

  Yeah. He's like, we've all been through things, Coach.

• 1:04:49Speaker 03

  Been there, done that.

• 1:04:50Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:51Speaker 03

  But that atmosphere of comfortable and like the players, like I've, I've been around both and I've been around them as an employee where you're miserable driving in like, oh, another day like, and it's just like, to me, you're not very productive that way. Like I want our players to come here and like, they play their own playlist, like in practice and stuff, you know, like it's a player's team with discipline, but the same thing around the office, like people, when you have hours, like you don't even have like, you leave when you're done with your work, you know, like, okay, you leave at this time. Um, cause then people just sit there and guard their desk, you know, till the time goes. So I just try to create an atmosphere that people really want to be at and they, they have a lot of fun doing it. And it's really, to me, it's awesome if you

• 1:05:34Speaker 03

  can win and have fun. Cause some programs, like they win, but they're still miserable.

• 1:05:38Theo Von?

  Hmm.

• 1:05:39Speaker 03

  And I've seen that. So we try to create this atmosphere and I think people love it.

• 1:05:44Theo Von?

  Is it tough to be like a coach and a dad? Cause you have three children, right?

• 1:05:47Speaker 03

  Mm hmm.

• 1:05:48Theo Von?

  And is it tough to be like a coach and a dad and a coach and a husband? Like what's that? What is the cross of like those jobs like for a coach? Cause it takes a lot of time.

• 1:05:58Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:06:00Speaker 03

  I think like a lot of questions, I answer them differently now than I did five, 10, 15 years ago.

• 1:06:08Speaker 03

  I think, you know, as I look back, and I use my failures and experiences. Now it's awesome because I get to use to help others.

• 1:06:17Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:17Speaker 03

  And I help our players when they're going through it. So I like that I had a lot of stuff happen to me or self inflicted stuff.

• 1:06:24Theo Von?

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:06:25Speaker 03

  Um, that like, I struggled for a long time, but then as I like now see like, I get to help like, cause a coach knows my story or players and they come in, I can help them with things. Like when you say, okay, how did like the balance of a husband, father and head coach? Well, I failed at that because I'm as a head coach, like I was a head coach Tennessee, USC, and I was like, that was my higher power. And I'm the head coach USC.

• 1:06:53Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:54Speaker 03

  That's who I am. Not like, oh, I'm a husband, not I'm a father. Like that became my higher power. That was the most important thing to me. And I could feel it because I'd be like, ooh, we'd win. So then like the LA Times, Sunday morning, man, Coach Lane Kiffin, you know, like, and like, what do you want?

• 1:07:13Speaker 03

  And I remember him asking me like, what do you want someday? And I'm like a statue. Like Nick Saban, because then, then I made it. Like they built a statue of me because I won so many games and championships.

• 1:07:27Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:07:27Speaker 03

  That's what I want. But I was totally missing it. Cause if you ask me that now, what do you want? You know what I want? I want to be a really good dad. I want to be a really good boss, a really good friend, a really good neighbor. The other stuff happens with the wins. That's fine. But I was so focused on that, that it, it controlled everything. I just slept at the office. All week long. Cause like we had to win. That's all that matters. And

• 1:07:53Theo Von?

  Like John Daly used to sleep at a Hooters.

• 1:07:55Speaker 03

  Yeah, that was a little different.

• 1:07:57Theo Von?

  Yeah, that's true. He didn't even work there.

• 1:07:59Speaker 03

  It's not like he was, you know, working on chipping at Hooters. His short game.

• 1:08:04Theo Von?

  Yeah, you're right. That's a good point. So I don't know why I said that, but yeah, people sleep at the office.

• 1:08:09Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:08:13Speaker 03

  I think John Daily still goes to Hooters for like John Daly two hour like signing special. I love JD by the way.

• 1:08:20Theo Von?

  Oh, of course dude.

• 1:08:20Speaker 03

  He's awesome.

• 1:08:21Theo Von?

  We tell, no, we talk about him every single week. There he is right there, huh?

• 1:08:24Speaker 03

  Yes, yeah.

• 1:08:26Theo Von?

  Oh, he's got a, he's got that two pack. Boy, he's off a couple of honey packs right there. Look at him.

• 1:08:32Speaker 03

  Yeah, that's where I won't, that's where I won't comment. Head coach.

• 1:08:35Theo Von?

  Okay.

• 1:08:36Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 1:08:36Theo Von?

  Okay.

• 1:08:37Speaker 03

  So anyway, so that's where this failure came in because it was like, okay, if you're going to put all, if this is the most important thing to you. Then I like look back and shoot, no wonder like I ended up getting divorced. No wonder that, you know, I end up having strained relationship with my kids. And then I kind of figured this out later on and started going, okay, wait, wait, wait a second. This is just part of who I am, you know, being a coach. And then I started to work on the other areas of my life.

• 1:09:05Speaker 03

  Got sober from a lot of things really. Just not just physical sober, like stopped drinking, but like emotionally sober, you know, like, and that's still a constant battle. Like working on that, like, and things not making me go way up, way down, like every day. But, and people say, okay, well, what do you do? You don't drink. Like, what do you do like Thursday? And I was like, what's replaced that is like amazing, like going to dinner with Landry or watching a movie with her friends. Like, you know, like you just, I just had this shift and it really helped me. And actually I'm a better coach out of it, which you wouldn't think would be like, cause you think, okay, well, if you put everything into it.

• 1:09:46Speaker 03

  But then you lose balance and you're just kind of off and everything is so defined on a winner loss that like, it's everything. I remember like, losing a really, really important game. And I remember at the time like seeing why she's like, and I'm like, I don't want to wake up.

• 1:10:03Speaker 03

  We actually lost USC, we lost to Texas. We were on our third straight national championship and lost in the Rose Bowl national championship. Vince Young couldn't tackle him. And I'm like, I don't want to wake up tomorrow. She said, what is wrong with you? We had one kid at the time, Landry, and she's like, you have a kid, like you have a whole life. Like, we lost the game, third straight national championship. How, how long is it going to take to ever get there again?

• 1:10:25Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:10:26Speaker 03

  But I was just so out of whack on that. Because that's, I mentioned earlier that the ego had gotten so big when I became a head coach and all the money and success and attention that like it just built. And like, you gotta keep feeding it. And so it's really been cool to, to get out of that spot.

• 1:10:45Theo Von?

  Yeah. And what do you attribute to helping you get out of it probably?

• 1:10:49Speaker 03

  Lifestyle change. You know, I came to Mississippi and decided like, okay, I started eating more to food, not working out, like, and I just was like, man, I'm not the best version of myself. I didn't have this like rock bottom moment, you know, that people have sometimes. I just was like, man, I don't really like this lower version of myself. I want to be the highest version of myself. So I changed my diet, I stopped the alcohol, I started working out. And really what I started to do is to pour into other people instead of just pouring into myself.

• 1:11:25Theo Von?

  Dang, Coach, you're making me feel bad about my life, bruh.

• 1:11:29Speaker 03

  You're younger than me, used to get there. It's a daily battle.

• 1:11:33Theo Von?

  It is, man. And especially that emotional sobriety, that's my biggest issue, dude. I mean, my, I have a certain emotion and I get literally drunk off of it or high off of it. Or the other way, I get depressed. It's like, it's like, those are like my drugs a lot of times. Any feeling that I have?

• 1:11:49Speaker 03

  I'm still there, like I, that's a daily battle.

• 1:11:51Theo Von?

  God, boy.

• 1:11:52Speaker 03

  And I really got on this after the physical sobriety, after a couple of years of, okay, well, okay, I got really healthy, working out all the time and don't drink. But it was like, okay, but I still was letting people, situations like. Man, well, that that went my way. So everything's good.

• 1:12:07Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:12:08Speaker 03

  You know, like, oh, that didn't go that way. We lose that recruit or have an argument with this person. Then like, everything's terrible. And I was like, man, and I had somebody tell me like, remember the tide goes in and out every day. Like it's going to. And like, do you just get freaked out by that? Or you're just like, hey, the tide came in, tide went out. And so I really try to do that. Cause like, I'll do the yoga. Everything's good, man. Then I'll come in here and then this player has this issue, you know, or a kid has this issue, you know? And then it's like, or this doesn't go this way. That especially like, if you're like me, which I feel like you are from your last answer. When somebody doesn't do what you want them to do. Like, wait, everything would be good, man. If he just wouldn't say that.

• 1:12:50Theo Von?

  Sorry, and I'll believe this.

• 1:12:51Speaker 03

  If she does this, if he does that, and they do that, I'll be good.

• 1:12:55Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:12:55Speaker 03

  Well, wait, they don't?

• 1:12:57Theo Von?

  And it never is going to happen. It's just total unrealistic expectations of what I have a lot of times.

• 1:13:01Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:13:02Theo Von?

  And um, that's when my biggest thing is unrealistic expectations.

• 1:13:05Speaker 03

  Like expecting the tide not to come in.

• 1:13:08Theo Von?

  Yes.

• 1:13:08Speaker 03

  That's what it would be like.

• 1:13:09Theo Von?

  Everybody to do things exactly. I want to expect that people know how I want things done after I haven't shared how I want them done. That's my biggest thing. Like expecting somebody to know what I want them to do, but I've never even told them exactly what I want.

• 1:13:19Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:13:20Theo Von?

  That's it. And that's a crazy person would think that way. So, yeah.

• 1:13:23Speaker 03

  Or I did this.

• 1:13:24Theo Von?

  I'm not doing.

• 1:13:25Speaker 03

  And then they don't deal. And then they don't, they don't act how I want them to act after what I did.

• 1:13:30Theo Von?

  Yeah. Haven't I been, haven't I, have you been, haven't I let's shared with you?

• 1:13:33Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:13:33Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:13:34Speaker 03

  But there is a major problem that when you become and you're in charge of company, your head coach, you know, like, and all the people are working for you. So your whole day, they really are doing what you want. And then now in your personal life, outside of it, maybe somebody doesn't do what you want. And then you lose your mind. That's where I was off with the emotional part.

• 1:13:54Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:13:55Speaker 03

  You know, and had to like, work on that part.

• 1:13:58Theo Von?

  Yeah, I can't imagine I'm really a coach. It would be hard. I can't even coach myself. Um, oh, so you've really taken the Oxford coach. I noticed that your son is moving here, right?

• 1:14:08Speaker 03

  Mm hmm.

• 1:14:08Theo Von?

  Is that true?

• 1:14:09Speaker 03

  Yeah. So my daughter goes to school here.

• 1:14:12Theo Von?

  Okay. And she's a sophomore.

• 1:14:13Speaker 03

  She's a sophomore. My other daughter's going to college at USC and then my son is moving here. He's actually on a spring break here right now and he's moving here next month.

• 1:14:22Theo Von?

  And he's gonna go to Oxford High?

• 1:14:24Speaker 03

  He is.

• 1:14:24Theo Von?

  Nice. And he plays football too, or no?

• 1:14:27Speaker 03

  He does. Yeah. Yeah. He's, um, he's quarterback. He's got a chance to be good. Um, so that'll be exciting to be able to watch all his games here and he's always up here working out with his buddies. So.

• 1:14:38Theo Von?

  Oh, that's gonna be great just to be around that much, that many other players and stuff.

• 1:14:42Speaker 03

  It's awesome. I was, my, my dad was a coach. I grew up as a coach's kid that to be around those locker rooms and to be around those players and to learn from them. It's, it's, it's so awesome and so motivating.

• 1:14:52Theo Von?

  Yeah. Did you have a good relationship with your dad? I know your dad was Monty Kiffin.

• 1:14:56Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 1:14:56Theo Von?

  And did you, did you guys have a good relationship?

• 1:14:58Speaker 03

  Amazing. So he, he passed in July and, um.

• 1:15:01Theo Von?

  Was he sick? Was he pretty sick at the end of his life?

• 1:15:03Speaker 03

  He had dementia and so he slowed down a lot. But here's what's really cool, you know? I'm just saying like the pain of discipline or the pain of regret, like we probably have the pain of regret from things we weren't disciplined at in life.

• 1:15:16Theo Von?

  Mm hmm.

• 1:15:17Speaker 03

  You know, if you look back, man, if I wouldn't have done that or like I would have got, you know, made different decisions. So now I have the pain of the regret of that.

• 1:15:25Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:15:26Speaker 03

  Well, I think a lot of times people with parents, sometimes like when they pass, you know, they have the pain of regret, man, I should have been around them more. I didn't go to see them. Well, my dad worked for me all the way up till the end of 84. So all these last three stops, he was here in the building, helping us coach.

• 1:15:44Theo Von?

  Oh, that's cool.

• 1:15:45Speaker 03

  So every day I would see him 15 times a day.

• 1:15:47Theo Von?

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:15:48Speaker 03

  And he was such a coach that like even his doctors say that was keeping him alive because he could come into the office every day. He was 84 years old with dementia, still coming in the office.

• 1:15:57Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:15:58Speaker 03

  And he just was like, he was the ultimate coach, the old school coach. And so. I got to be with him every day all the way up. So because of that of bringing him to all the places, making sure he was at work every day and everything like.

• 1:16:11Theo Von?

  That was here at Ole Miss. Wow. Yeah. So if you don't come here, who knows if that even setup is even kind of perfect for that.

• 1:16:16Speaker 03

  Yeah, but that's, that's where I've gotten to like, who, who knows what's supposed to be perfect? What, what I thought, what we thought as a plan should be, I was like totally off. You know, like, I like, I'd been like, there's no way I'm gonna like, want to move to Oxford, Mississippi, have my kid go to college here, have my kid, other kid go to high school here and love it. And, and now I do. And who would have thought they would have ever wanted to come here? Like, it's like, you know, God's plan obviously makes a lot more sense than ours. Cause every time I take that and I'm like, wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, maybe he wants to, let me turn that over here. My way. This is what I want to happen. Like, these people need to do this. I need to go here. I need to get that job.

• 1:16:59Theo Von?

  Let me control everything. Yeah.

• 1:17:02Speaker 03

  And then, then it just doesn't work. It really doesn't. And then when I just, which is hard, when I just let go and just let it go and whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen. And that tide's gonna come in, it's gonna go out. I'll just float along with it.

• 1:17:19Theo Von?

  The HOV lane, dude. What, um, who caught that clipboard? Do you know?

• 1:17:24Speaker 03

  I don't know. They brought it back.

• 1:17:26Theo Von?

  They did?

• 1:17:27Speaker 03

  Yes. Mississippi nice.

• 1:17:29Theo Von?

  Oh, so sweet of them.

• 1:17:30Speaker 03

  Told you the people here are amazing.

• 1:17:33Theo Von?

  God, that was great. There's nothing as good as.

• 1:17:36Speaker 03

  Because it's like when the plays work, I don't know. It's like a video game for me. I feel like I'm playing a video game on the sideline. So think like when you play in a video game, you throw your controller. That's really what I'm doing. It's still the kid in me right there. You know, like throw my clipboard like your controller.

• 1:17:50Theo Von?

  Out of the box. Um, you've had a quite a life, you know, you start, you started kind of. You know, you didn't start, but you kind of came on a lot of people's radar in coaching at the highest level, right?

• 1:18:00Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 1:18:00Theo Von?

  Step back into college football. You've been a player. You've, uh, you know, you've had like you kind of a polarizing, people would say type figure. Very unique in your own way. And I think after talking to you more, I learned a little bit more about how you operate. So I can understand. But what is like a message you would get? You know, you've had, you've been through divorce. You've been through, um, you have children. You've had a lot of just experiences in your life.

• 1:18:26Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 1:18:26Theo Von?

  What, um, for somebody out there who's getting into their middle age and is kind of struggling, um, with having a setback or something, what is, what is something you think you would share with them from your experience or a thought or statement or?

• 1:18:41Speaker 03

  Yeah. Yeah. I think that like they can do it. Like these things happen, you know, and like these major obstacles that seem so horrible at the time, a divorce, firings, um, maybe you have a health scare like these things that seem so terrible and they're really not. They just feel like it in the moment and they're gonna pass and you're gonna actually look back later on and be glad for them. Like my kind of major thing was I got fired as a head coach at USC and like my career is over. Well, if that wouldn't happen, I wouldn't have gotten to work for Nick Saban for three years, you know? So like whatever those things are or?

• 1:19:17Theo Von?

  Yeah, your career's been over like four times.

• 1:19:19Speaker 03

  Yeah. That, that you can do it. And it's actually feels way better than like, let's say you come out like I came up and got a lot of breaks because my dad and stuff. And so it's like, okay, I got to the top. Okay. Well, that felt good, but then to actually have it torn down and all taken away, some by circumstance, some by your own decisions and rebuild from the bottom personally and professionally, it feels so much better. It's like instead of buying the house, you build the house from the beginning. And so just for people that are struggling in whatever one of those areas may be, like you can do it, but don't get overwhelmed. Like it really is one day at a time. Like, hey, just start working out today, you know, or stop drinking today, you know,

• 1:20:03Speaker 03

  or start being a better person today, whatever those areas are.

• 1:20:07Theo Von?

  Yeah, just today.

• 1:20:07Speaker 03

  Just today, man. Cause other stuff's overwhelming. We don't know what's gonna happen next week, let alone next month or next year. And just be really good at it today.

• 1:20:18Theo Von?

  Hey man, man, I needed to hear that. Yeah, there's something I've been like, I just feel like kind of the world is in and cause it's something that's kind of like just work stuff and I'm like, what do I do? But I just have to look at it as a challenge, adjust the perspective.

• 1:20:29Speaker 03

  Zoom out.

• 1:20:30Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:20:30Speaker 03

  Zoom out. See, so watching my dad pass and the last couple of years of dementia, but also watching him on what was important to him. He'd been a head coach. He'd been fired. He'd been through all these, it didn't matter. Like what, whatever that is right now that you're starting, you're gonna look back toward it and like, what was I even like losing sleep for? Or having anxiety about that for?

• 1:20:52Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:20:52Speaker 03

  It really ain't that big of a, if you zoom out to later on, you're gonna look back and be like, man, that wasn't a big deal. I'm glad it happened.

• 1:20:59Theo Von?

  Hotty toddy, man.

• 1:21:00Speaker 03

  Hotty toddy.

• 1:21:01Theo Von?

  Lane Kiffin, thanks so much, dude. I really appreciate it. I hope that you stay as entertaining as ever. And I'm glad that you're in the SCC, man. It's one of the greatest conferences to watch. And congratulations on what you guys have done here at Ole Miss, man. I want to thank my friend Scott Sackfield and Richie Haiku who helped me think up questions today to talk about as well because they went to school here. And yeah, I'm looking forward to spending, having a good show here tonight.

• 1:21:23Speaker 03

  Yeah, excited for your show tonight. We'll be there and our whole team's coming, actually.

• 1:21:28Theo Von?

  Uh-uh, really?

• 1:21:28Speaker 03

  Yeah, the whole team's coming.

• 1:21:29Theo Von?

  Oh, dude.

• 1:21:31Speaker 03

  Yeah, we told them in the team, we had a team meeting today and said, we're going, we're going tonight. We're like, we got you in free. So like, yes, because we don't have any money. We're like, wait, you make like a million dollars. Like, these guys know that. But they still, they still just want something for free.

• 1:21:43Theo Von?

  Yeah.

• 1:21:43Speaker 03

  We told them you're really funny and free. Something to know you are.

• 1:21:46Theo Von?

  At, at the end, there's still collars, dude. You just want something for free, you know? Lane Kiffin, thanks so much.

• 1:21:50Speaker 03

  All right, man.

• 1:22:18Speaker 05

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