Auburn football reporter compares Lane Kiffin to Chris Beard

Auburn football reporter Joseph Goodman compared Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin to rumored Rebels basketball head coaching hire Chris Beard in a March 8 tweet on the first night of the SEC men’s basketball tournament during Ole Miss-South Carolina.

Big crowd for SEC Tournament opener. I’m trying to imagine Chris Beard coaching Ole Miss. Oh yeah, Lane Kiffin coaches football. Not that hard. pic.twitter.com/7MwW3eWGRg

— Joseph Goodman, sports enthusiast 🎟🍺 (@JoeGoodmanJr) March 9, 2023

Explaining the comparison in a reply tweet, Goodman said both coaches bring baggage to Oxford, although it’s important to note the differences in what the two men have been accused of in the past. Beard was dismissed from the Texas basketball program on third-degree assault charges after the incident involving him and his fiancee. The Athletic. Meanwhile, Kiffin was found to have made unauthorized phone calls to recruiters, attended high school with a recruiting intern who was not allowed on recruiting trips, and participated in a famous hostess program where members of the Orange Pride program illegally visited recruits. per AL.com.

Beard has emerged as the top coaching candidate for the open Ole Miss head coaching role since the Rebels fired Kermit Davis on Feb. 24.

When Auburn hired Hugh Freeze for football, John Cohen would never have hired someone like Chris Beard.

Those who think Auburn wouldn’t face the same scrutiny if the basketball program inexplicably replaces Bruce Pearl with a beard — something fringe groups within the Auburn family have been touting through the 2022-23 season — are kidding themselves. Goodman himself might have made the same tweet, and it’s possible that it would be filled with even more vitriol.

If John Cohen ever has to make a basketball hire during his tenure, it’s fair to assume he’ll have learned a lesson about hiring someone with baggage, given how the media handled and portrayed Hugh Freeze’s Auburn football hire. Giving Freeze a second chance is one thing, but making controversial hires creates a reputation.