No. 21 LSU and No. 6 Texas clash in Tiger Stadium on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., bringing playoff implications alongside a 25-year coaching friendship [tigerrag.com].
The Southeastern Conference showdown marks an emotional home finale for LSU seniors. It also unites two prominent offensive minds who started their careers together on Pete Carroll’s USC staff in 2001, [tigerrag.com] reported.
“You like, you love competing against your friends, because there’s nothing more gratifying than beating your friends,” Steve Sarkisian said at his Monday press conference [tigerrag.com].
Early Coaching Roots at USC
Lane Kiffin and Sarkisian spent six seasons under Carroll in Los Angeles. Kiffin coached tight ends initially before moving to wide receivers in 2002 and offensive coordinator in 2005, [tigerrag.com] reported.
Sarkisian coached quarterbacks for three seasons before joining the Oakland Raiders in 2004. He returned to USC as offensive coordinator in 2007 when Kiffin left for the NFL, [tigerrag.com] reported.
“We were raised kind of the same way in the profession,” Sarkisian said [tigerrag.com].
Professional Obstacles and Recovery
Kiffin became the NFL’s youngest head coach with the Oakland Raiders in 2007 at age 31. He went 4-12 after management selected quarterback JaMarcus Russell with the top draft pick, a move Kiffin opposed, [tigerrag.com] reported.
Both coaches later faced personal and professional turbulence. Sarkisian left USC in 2015 following alcohol-related incidents and entered a residential treatment facility, achieving lifelong sobriety thereafter, [tigerrag.com] reported.
Kiffin experienced similar struggles during his career. He said that he got sober in January 2021 with support from Sarkisian, [tigerrag.com] reported.
“A major change in my life was getting sober almost six years ago, and he was a big part of that,” Kiffin said [tigerrag.com].
Historic Reunion in Baton Rouge
The longtime friends reunited briefly under Nick Saban at Alabama in 2016, [tigerrag.com] reported. Now they lead two major college programs into a high-stakes prime-time game.
“Both of us end up at two premier programs in the country with great players and great support, great fan bases,” Sarkisian said [tigerrag.com].