LSU head football coach Lane Kiffin admitted that a drinking problem not only disrupted his coaching career, but contributed to the downfall of his marriage.
“My whole drive when I was younger was like, ‘How fast can I get everything? How fast can I get the big job? The big contract?’” Kiffin, 51, said in a story published by Vanity Fair on Monday, May 11. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to work on that, making decisions that are more delayed gratification…I got tired of digging out of hangovers, tired of digging out of situations or things I said.”
Kiffin and his ex-wife, Layla Reaves, divorced in 2016. They share three kids, daughters Landry, 21, and Presley, 19, and son Knox, 17.
“After a lot of careful thought and consideration, Layla and I have mutually decided to divorce,” Kiffin told Fox Sports at the time. “We are fully committed to our kids’ future being our No. 1 priority. We will maintain an amicable relationship with respect for each other as we raise these three wonderful children. We will have no further comments and appreciate respect for our family’s privacy.”
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Kiffin has previously been open about his sobriety journey, which began in January 2021. He replaced alcohol with different hobbies, including hot yoga and pickleball, and credits the lifestyle change with helping him lose 45 pounds.
He also told ESPN in 2024 that he had begun journaling, and shared a quote from Grapevine, the international journal of Alcoholics Anonymous.
“Ego was being replaced with self-respect, resentment and hatred were being replaced with tolerance and understanding,” the quote reads.
Kiffin celebrated five years of sobriety earlier this year, acknowledging the moment with a post via X that didn’t explicitly mention alcohol, but detailed how his life had changed.
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“Welp, 5 years ago today, I made a decision that would change my life and many others around me,” he wrote. “I want to say to anyone that has something holding you back from being the best version of yourself—you CAN do it!! It won’t be easy AT ALL, but I promise you it will be worth it. 💙♥️.”
Kiffin’s sobriety anniversary came just weeks after he shockingly left his job at the University of Mississippi while the Rebels were preparing to compete in the College Football Playoff, taking the LSU job instead.
The timing of the move outraged Ole Miss fans, so much so that Kiffin said one tried to run him off the road while he was driving with Knox.
“It was really hard. I’m human,” he said during his introductory press conference at LSU in December. “Even though you understand it’s the passion [of the fans], you’re with your son and you’re driving and you got to call a cop that you know so they’ll help you because you… got to turn around and people are screaming at you, trying to run you off the road.”
