There are not many Texas A&M fans who have a lot of fond feelings towards Lane Kiffin in general, despite a vocal minority of the maroon and white faithful who wanted him during the Aggies' last coaching search. That mostly comes from his relentlessly trollish personality and questionable record in big games— this last Saturday was his first-ever win over a ranked team on the road while at Ole Miss, for exampe— but he's certainly had a lot of success in Oxford.
Amidst a crazy cycle of firing coaches, Kiffin's name has been in the zeitgeist quite a lot. Florida fans have had him as the apple of their eye for some time now, but with Brian Kelly out the door at LSU, the Tigers may have something to say about that.
Kiffin was asked a question about all these recent firings at a recent press conference, and to the surprise of Texas A&M fans, he made a rather complimentary comment about the Aggies. He used A&M and Mike Elko as the example that all of these schools looking to improve are attempting to emulate, showing that even LSU and Penn State are trying to get like the Ags.
Lane Kiffin gives credit to A&M's quick turnaround under Mike Elko as something that other schools are attempting to emulate with firings
Here are Lane's comments on the issue:
"I'm sure {Texas} A&M is sitting there right now going 'Okay well yeah that was ridiculous to pay, but I feel pretty good about that right now.' So, anytime something works other people go 'Well, let's go do that'."
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 27, 2025
Lane Kiffin on recent college HC firings ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ZqcmSygvqV
It's clear that the turnaround that Texas A&M has accomplished under Mike Elko is becoming a blueprint that is the envy of these other power programs looking to shake themselves out of a reverie. Despite whatever success Jimbo Fisher had at A&M, it wasn't up to the standard that the Aggies required, and so they paid out big time to replaced him with Elko— that's now paid off in a big way, and schools like LSU and Penn State are unafraid to shell out to emulate the Aggies.
Elko has Texas A&M poised for massive success down the stretch of this season, and that will only position them better going further forward. The Aggies are in an enviable position right now, so Kiffin was dead on target with this one.