He’s a douchebag. But he also is a genius.
Think about what he’s actually doing here. The fastest way to launch LSU back into national relevance isn’t just winning games, it’s ripping the heart out of Ole Miss on national television. And he knows it.
He had zero interest in some slow-burn SEC rivalry. He walked in and immediately turned Sept. 19 in Oxford into an emotional nuclear device.
Because year one? He has almost nothing to lose.
If LSU loses, the narrative is easy:
“Give him time”
“Roster isn’t fully his yet.”
“We’ll get them in Baton Rouge next year.”
Everyone buys that.
But if he walks into Oxford and beats Ole Miss? It’s Chernobyl. Absolute meltdown territory. The kind of loss that plants doubt everywhere fans, boosters, recruits, locker room, NIL giving, all of it. Suddenly the Pete Golding era and this entire Ole Miss run starts feeling fragile overnight.
Maybe it doesn’t collapse immediately. Those things usually take 1-2 years to fully crater. But psychologically? It starts Sept. 19 with one Tiger win.
And the sick part is… he knows exactly what he’s doing.
He just manufactured the biggest emotional game Oxford has ever seen while carrying limited downside himself. Ole Miss still has upside if they win. They keep the run alive another season but the downside is Grand Canyon deep.
It’s the SEC version of Conor McGregor selling a fight. Loud, arrogant, theatrical, polarizing… but calculated down to the decimal point.
Think about what he’s actually doing here. The fastest way to launch LSU back into national relevance isn’t just winning games, it’s ripping the heart out of Ole Miss on national television. And he knows it.
He had zero interest in some slow-burn SEC rivalry. He walked in and immediately turned Sept. 19 in Oxford into an emotional nuclear device.
Because year one? He has almost nothing to lose.
If LSU loses, the narrative is easy:
“Give him time”
“Roster isn’t fully his yet.”
“We’ll get them in Baton Rouge next year.”
Everyone buys that.
But if he walks into Oxford and beats Ole Miss? It’s Chernobyl. Absolute meltdown territory. The kind of loss that plants doubt everywhere fans, boosters, recruits, locker room, NIL giving, all of it. Suddenly the Pete Golding era and this entire Ole Miss run starts feeling fragile overnight.
Maybe it doesn’t collapse immediately. Those things usually take 1-2 years to fully crater. But psychologically? It starts Sept. 19 with one Tiger win.
And the sick part is… he knows exactly what he’s doing.
He just manufactured the biggest emotional game Oxford has ever seen while carrying limited downside himself. Ole Miss still has upside if they win. They keep the run alive another season but the downside is Grand Canyon deep.
It’s the SEC version of Conor McGregor selling a fight. Loud, arrogant, theatrical, polarizing… but calculated down to the decimal point.
