Lane Kiffin, an airport tarmac and the long-term impact of college football’s most memorable firing
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David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
For as long as there’s been college football, coaches have been getting fired. The annual discussions about who’s on the hot seat is as much a part of the game as a depth chart. But in the history of the sport — perhaps the history of employment — only one man’s termination is universally recalled with just a single word: “Tarmac.”
It’s been 10 years since Lane Kiffin was fired as USC‘s coach, supposedly on the tarmac at LAX. The truth of what happened in the early-morning hours of Sept. 29, 2013, is, like so many things with Kiffin, a bit more complicated.
ESPN spoke to nearly two dozen people who witnessed Kiffin’s tenure at USC, as well as his unlikely second act as one of college football’s most colorful characters and brilliant offensive minds, in an effort to find out what really happened that night and how it changed the rest of his career.
Lane Kiffin, USC head coach 2010-2013
It was a dream job for as long as I can remember to be a major college football coach so you could be somewhere forever, like the Bobby Bowden thing.
Kiffin grew up around the game. His father, Monte, is recognized as one of the great defensive coaches in football history, but Lane’s genius is offense. His first full-time job came with USC in 2001, and he was on the sideline for the Trojans’ rise to the top of college football under Pete Carroll. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2005, and two years later, at just 31 years old, was named head coach of the then Oakland Raiders.
Raiders owner Al Davis fired Kiffin after two seasons amid much controversy. Davis held a news conference, complete with an overhead projector, and called Kiffin a “disgrace to the organization.” In 2009, Kiffin was hired as the head coach at Tennessee, and he immediately made waves in the stoic SEC with his brash demeanor and aggressive recruiting style.
At the end of the 2009 season, however, Carroll resigned at USC to take the head-coaching job with the Seattle Seahawks. The Trojans were eager to maintain the Carroll lineage, and set their sights on Kiffin.
Mike Garrett, USC AD, 1993-2010
I thought he was a student of the game, and I thought I had a maven in the works. I asked him to bring his father in, Monte. I thought Lane, offensively, could handle the load on that side of the ball, and Monte would handle the defensive side, and what a combination that would be.
Scott Wolf, USC beat reporter
They never would’ve hired him at SC except he made this pitch to them that he was bringing Monte Kiffin, who they thought was the best defensive coordinator in the country, and Ed Orgeron, who was a beloved figure at SC. That’s how he got the job.
Mike Locksley, Alabama assistant, 2016-2018
The one thing Lane never got credit for was, he’s a good coach. He’s one of the better playcallers I’ve been around. A lot of that gets lost because he had this looming shadow of one of the great D-coordinators and great people in Monte Kiffin, so a lot of people labeled him as the kid who got everything off his last name.
Clay Helton, USC assistant coach/head coach, 2010-2021
You could see how brilliant [Kiffin] was as an offensive mind, and he had a reputation as being an unbelievable recruiter. He already had Coach Orgeron on board, who is one of the best recruiters in football. … [Orgeron] would take me on the road recruiting with him all the time. You’d get in the car with him and he’d give you a Red Bull, a pack of peanuts and a beef jerky. That was your day of rationing, and he went from daylight to dark recruiting everybody — the principal, the counselor, the janitor at the school.
Dan Weber, former USC beat reporter
USC football was about as big as you could possibly be, and the town was L.A. You’d go to practice and Will Ferrell was there all the time. You’d have to fight your way into practice because Snoop Dogg’s bodyguards would be at the gate. I’d park and there’d be Sylvester Stallone in his Mercedes that was like 40-feet long.
Garrett
I loved [Kiffin’s] brashness. I loved the fact he had a lot of confidence. You could call it arrogance, being young and thought he could change the world, but I kind of liked that. I thought it was something that could work to his advantage.
Roy Nwaisser, Trojans super fan “USC Psycho”
When Lane Kiffin came to USC, there was some baggage. He kept moving up despite failures. But USC fans were super excited because he was part of the Pete Carroll coaching tree.
Tim Tessalone, former USC sports information director
I loved Kiff. Did he have his quirks? Certainly did. But he was just kind of an introvert. A lot of people’s perceptions of Kiff came from just that. He had a hard time engaging with people back then.
Wolf
Pat Haden told him not to do anything to get on the ticker at ESPN. That was the advice. He did seem to find ways to have problems.
JK McKay, former USC administrator
He was a young guy, and he was controversial. They said in the papers that I was supposed to keep him off ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
Kiffin
I had a very large ego. Kids who are given too much, too early sometimes — you see it in actors all the time. Sometimes you’re not ready for all that. I wasn’t ready at 31 to be the head coach of the Raiders, 32 at Tennessee, 33 or 34 at USC. I wasn’t ready for all that fame and that money. Some of that is my fault. And I think there’s also the factor of being really young, you leave Tennessee so you have part of the country that hates you and is pissed off at you. It’s human nature that there’s some jealousy from guys going, “He’s this age, and he’s got this and he’s got that and got a really attractive wife.” I know there was a lot of that. People want you to fail. That’s America.
People might have been rooting for Kiffin to fail, but the cards were also stacked against him. When he took the job, the Trojans were enmeshed in an NCAA investigation surrounding improper benefits to former running back Reggie Bush. Ultimately, the school was given debilitating sanctions, including a two-year bowl ban, and lost 30 scholarships over a three-year span.
Kiffin
When Pat Haden was hired, he said to me, “I need you to get us through probation. Do not cheat, do not have any violations.” He said, “I know you’re going to lose games, and I know the Coliseum is going to be half-full. … I’m prepared for it. But we need to get off probation.”
Wolf
They used to put out a weekly stat with how many players they had available because they were upset with the NCAA.
Kiffin
Even though no one had ever done it before and been successful, there was a kind of arrogance of, “Oh, we’re USC and it’ll be fine.” But I had a major concern that the numbers were taking their toll.
McKay
My expectations were unreasonably high. With the scholarship restrictions we were under, I just looked this up: A couple years ago a team backed out of a bowl game because they only had 58 players and they felt that was unsafe or unfair. We went years without having 50. I don’t think I understood it at the time.
Despite the sanctions, USC finished the 2011 season 10-2, adding ample hype for 2012. The Trojans opened that year as the preseason No. 1 team in the country. That’s when the wheels came off. USC finished 2012 7-6, including an embarrassing performance in the Sun Bowl vs. Georgia Tech.
Weber
[The Trojans] go to the Sun Bowl. They didn’t want to be there. Lane didn’t want to be there. They had a fight in the locker room afterwards. All these parents that are on the plane with me back from El Paso saying, “Did you hear what happened?” because all their kids had told them these stories. That’s the setup for the next year.
Kevin Graf, USC offensive lineman, 2009-13
The way [2012] ended, I didn’t know if this was a situation I wanted to really come back for. But SC is such a special place to me, and I wasn’t ready to leave it that way. But that [frustration] carried on into spring ball. Spring was a weird situation. And it carried into the season as well.
USC opened the 2013 season 3-1 with an ugly 10-7 loss to Washington State at the Coliseum. Then came a road trip to Arizona State that proved to be one of the most embarrassing losses in recent USC history.
Nwaisser
I don’t think going into 2013 people were expecting a huge turnaround. He was already on a short leash as fans were concerned.
Max Browne, USC quarterback, 2013-16
To think he was not on the hot seat would’ve been naïve.
Helton
As coaches, you’re so ingrained in routine and just getting ready for the next game, it didn’t come into my thought process. We were just trying to get ready each week. I never felt like, “Oh gosh if this happens we may be out of a job.”
Nwaisser
There was a hope, I think, among fans that the end would be coming soon. The “Fire Kiffin” chants had already started.
I have a feeling this won’t be the only time a fire lane is used this way at the Coliseum this year pic.twitter.com/p5rZNC4Qnw
— John Ireland (@LAIreland) September 8, 2013
Kiffin
There’s not many professions that millions of people root for you every Saturday to get fired.
Helton
It was one of those shootout games. We put 40-plus points up, but they put up 60-plus. At that time, if you didn’t bring your “A” game, you’d get your butts beat. And we did not play our best game.
Mike Norvell, Arizona State offensive coordinator, 2012-15
I’ve still got a helmet. Coach [Todd] Graham gave me a helmet because it was the most points they’d ever scored against USC. It was a special night. Our players, that was a big game for our program.
Tessalone
By the end of that season, they had 44 scholarship players available because of NCAA sanctions and injuries. They were working some magic, and Lane really had a plan on how to deal with the limitations that were very severe — way more severe than they should’ve been. But at USC, they don’t take excuses.
Wolf
They decided to fire him — not at the airport. They were in the locker room, Haden, JK McKay and Mark Jackson. They stayed in there after halftime, and they decided in that little locker room to fire him. And they didn’t tell him until they got back to L.A.
Weber
I still remember talking to people in the press box. There’s [USC president C.L.] Max Nikias right behind the bench, and he’s talking to the head of the board of trustees. And you could see him call Pat Haden over, and I’m thinking, “This might not be so good.” And [the conversation] was happening right behind the bench. They weren’t trying to hide it.
Helton
It felt like normal after a loss, after you get your butt kicked. You’re trying to get to the tape as fast as you can to get it fixed for the next week.
Kiffin
Maybe I was naïve, but I was shocked. The whole airport story.
Tessalone
I had no idea what was going down until I walked onto the plane. I was one of the last guys, and Pat pulled me aside and said, “Hey, we need to talk. We’re going to make a change.” So now my mind starts spinning.
Browne
I remember sitting toward the front of the plane. Lane always sits in the very back. I remember him walking up to the front, and I remember thinking, “Hey that’s weird.”
Kiffin
I sat in the back with the players. Pat Haden sat up front in first class. I got a message saying Pat wants to see you after [we land]. I’m certainly not thinking that I’m getting fired. I remember walking up there because I was going to ask him, “Hey, can we just talk on the plane?” I walked up and Pat was sleeping, and his wife, Cindy, looked at me and started crying.
The charter plane landed at LAX around 3 a.m. local time. What happened from there became part of college football lore — the moment the most reviled head coach in the country got pulled off the team bus so he could be fired on an airport tarmac. Only, that’s not exactly how it went down.
Kiffin
I don’t see [Haden] when I get off [the plane], so I get on the bus. JK McKay stops the bus and grabs me and brings me in. I said to him I was going back to sleep in the office because it’s 3 in the morning and I’m getting ready for work the next day.
Rick Carr, USC head of athletics security
For road games, I would drive over to [Kiffin’s] house on Fridays, pick him up, and drive his car over to the airport. Lane had told me before we got off the plane, “Just take my car home because I’m going to spend the weekend at the office.” I was walking from the plane past the buses, and Pat Haden stops me and says, “Where’s Lane?” I said, “He was going back to the office. He’s staying there.” And he says, “Well, bring his car around.”
Wolf
Steve Lopes was an administrator. He literally gets in front of a bus and stops the bus as it’s leaving the parking lot.
Tessalone
Obviously, lots of side stories came out about [Kiffin] getting yanked off the bus.
Browne
That whole bus story, the one that got a bunch of pub, as a player, it was not a drama-filled bus ride.
Wolf
[Kiffin] had this briefcase he used to take with him, and he left it on the bus because he thought he was going to talk to those guys for like 10 minutes and get back on the bus. He went to this little building, and they sent the bus to USC. He had to get someone to get his briefcase and bring it back to his house because he never went back to USC.
Carr
For complete transparency, it was not the tarmac. It was an office in the terminal.
Weber
Lane has developed a sense of humor, but he always used to talk to us about what the storyline was. I think Lane realized tarmac sounded better. He didn’t get fired on the tarmac. There was like a small building where the charter jets would pull up to. But it always sounded better, and Lane was smart enough to realize, “I’m going to go with tarmac.”
Tessalone
It’s a charter company. They have a little building there on the south side of the airport. They go into the building and have a conversation that lasts quite a while. It was very surreal for me, just sitting there waiting for a while, sitting on a couch in this tiny little terminal.
Kiffin
I even said to him, “OK, what’s the use of changing now? Even if you want to fire me, let me just finish with these players and coach the rest of the year.” Actually, I think I had him turned to not firing me because I’m reminding him we don’t have 30 scholarship players. He walks out. And he’s like, “Yeah, I get it, maybe we jumped the gun on this.” So he walks out and makes a call, and he comes back in and says, “No, I can’t take this back.”
Carr
Pat walks out, and Lane’s still sitting there. Pat takes a lap around the patio area and walks back in. Comes back out and does another lap. At that point, I see our sports information guy and our CFO, and they’re off in the corner of the parking lot, and I said to myself, “Wait a minute, he’s getting whacked.” It was like when Joe Pesci walks into the room in “Goodfellas.”
Kiffin
You get that dream job, and I say, you lose it and have it taken away. The reason I say it that way is, when you get fired, you lose your job, and you look at it and say, “I should’ve done it this way or that way. I should’ve hired different.” Whatever it was. It’s all the things you look at vs. saying, “I got screwed over.” In this case, I could’ve done things much better, but I also got it taken away for things that weren’t my fault because there were 30 scholarships lost and a two-year bowl ban. We lost recruits because they couldn’t play on TV. We lost current players because the juniors and seniors could transfer. But that was all forgotten. We’re playing with 30 less scholarships, losing at Arizona State but 3-2 [in 2013], 28-15 overall. Not 0-6 or whatever. Coaches with full rosters of 85 scholarship players, you don’t usually get fired at 3-2.
Garrett
[Haden’s] war was with me. Getting rid of Lane was a way to say I didn’t know what I was doing, and I was lucky with Pete Carroll. Lane was really a byproduct of all that. If [Haden] got rid of Lane, it reflected on me.
ESPN contacted former USC athletic director Pat Haden, former interim coach Ed Orgeron, and former university president Max Nikias. All declined to comment for this story.
Carr
Lane gets in the car and the first thing he says is, “I’m sorry that took so long. I didn’t mean to keep you.”
Tessalone
Lane lived in Manhattan Beach at the time. I lived in Redondo Beach, which was two beaches south of that. It was 3 in the morning, something like that. I told Lane, “Hey, I’ll follow you home.” So there’s Kiff, going down the deserted Pacific Coast Highway, and he turns off, and I kept going down to Redondo. And I got in after 3 in the morning thinking, OK, I have to write a press release that Lane Kiffin’s been fired.
Nwaisser
I remember getting up, it was still dark, and I saw the news on my phone, and I basically had a little minicelebration in our hotel room in Arizona.
Kiffin
It’s 5 a.m. The sun’s getting ready to come up. I’m sitting in the backyard, and I said to my wife, “When I go to bed, I don’t want to wake up.” She’s got a little more perspective, and she said, “You have three children upstairs. Don’t ever say that again.”
When news trickled out about Kiffin’s departure — and the details of how it happened — the story transcended college football and became a pop culture moment.
Nwaisser
Getting fired on the tarmac, the memes kind of make themselves. It was funny and it was sad. It sucked to be a USC fan and have all this happen to us but I don’t think a lot of people were sad to see Kiffin go.
Weber
I’m driving back from Tempe listening to ESPN Radio. The guy’s on, and he sounded half-asleep. And he says, “There’s some rumblings about USC.” I pull over, and I’m sitting there on I-10 with my laptop out trying to write the story. There wasn’t anybody you could call in the middle of the night.
Tessalone
I’d never written a press release at 4 a.m. I remember opening up Twitter, and it’s 7 a.m. on the East Coast, and you could just see the story traveling from the East Coast to the midwest to the West Coast as all these media people start waking up.
Kiffin
If you get fired at the end of the year, you have this disaster, and you have to deal with it, and then you get a new job. You’re in the media with 20 other coaches getting fired. When you get fired in Week 5 in L.A., you’re the story.
Wolf
I was live tweeting this from my hotel room at like 4 in the morning. I’d talked to some people who were on the bus, so I broke that story about the tarmac. I got savaged by people who say I was making it up. Now everybody talks about it — especially him.
Pat Chun, FAU athletic director, 2012-2017
The brand value of USC and Lane Kiffin and social media and it’s a perfect storm of awkward circumstances to separate a coach from his job.
Wolf
And now every time someone doesn’t like a coach, “They need to tarmac him.”
In the aftermath of Kiffin’s dismissal, USC still had games to play, and the Trojans turned to Orgeron to lead the program the rest of the way — or, at least long enough for them to hire someone else.
Browne
We got a text first thing Sunday morning that there’s a team meeting. At that point, you knew the writing was on the wall.
Graf
We were all somewhat relieved because we weren’t living up to what we needed to, and we felt like Lane — I don’t know if he was trying to pin players against each other, but we all felt like it was in our interests to continue on without him. Let’s start clean, have Coach O come in and lead, and you saw quite a switch.
Browne
When Coach Orgeron came in, it was an injection of personality and energy into our locker room. He was getting us fast-food trucks on Wednesday and Thursday. We started going to movies the night before the game. Trying to lighten the air for a team that had a ton of pressure. It was much more fun.
Helton
That whole season, to be honest, is one of my favorite seasons. You always get to see who you are when adversity hits … that group of men, saying our job is to go do our job and not look for the next job.
Tessalone
Ed was incredibly popular with our players and our fans. When he took over — he’s just this larger-than-life personality. He’d done a great job during his time at SC and got the team going. They had the big upset over Stanford at home. I think everybody kind of thought he’d get a shot.
Pat Haden, former USC athletic director, in 2013
I counted them actually. I had 136 pro-Coach O emails today. Those were just emails. That doesn’t count the tweets, letters and phone calls. In my day, they sent ’em by carrier pigeon. Now, I get ’em four or five ways.
USC rebounded after Kiffin’s termination and finished the regular season 9-4, but lost to both Notre Dame and UCLA. Orgeron felt he’d earned the job full time. USC felt differently. On Dec. 2, two days after the Trojans’ final home game, Steve Sarkisian, who’d worked with Kiffin as an assistant under Carroll, was named the new head coach. Orgeron was not pleased, and USC still had a bowl game to play.
Wolf
You had the tarmac incident and two months later Ed Orgeron is storming off campus in his SUV because he didn’t get the job. And nobody sees him again because he was so mad.
With Sarkisian in the press box, and none of the remaining coaches certain they’d have a job the next day, Helton’s staff led a surprising upset of Fresno State 45-20 for USC’s 10th win in a season in which the team had four different head coaches.
Graf
No one knew what we were going through, and so it bonded the team closer. We were in a bad spot, and to turn it around and make it as fun as he did and to win 10 games under four different coaches — other teams would fold, but it almost brought us together as kind of a brotherhood.
Helton
It kind of put an exclamation point on a year that when a group of men rally together and support each other, great things can happen.
Graf
As wild a year as that was, the closeness the team was able to have, the way we finished it off, I’m glad I left SC with a win.
Rece Davis, play-by-play voice for the 2013 Las Vegas Bowl
Tee [Martin] and the offensive coaches were in the booth next to us. As soon as the game was over, he held up a sign that said, “Will coach for food.” It was the proverbial gallows humor.
Sarkisian, too, was ultimately fired midway through the 2015 season. Helton again stepped in as interim and, perhaps aware of the mistake in letting Orgeron walk in 2013, USC ultimately kept Helton on full time. His tenure was marked by more disgruntled fans, a 46-24 overall record, and just one top-10 finish. Helton was fired two games into the 2021 season.
Weber
From August to December [2013], they had four coaches. They’re the only program who’s fired two coaches in the middle of the season two years apart.
Kiffin
You get far enough removed where then you don’t care. Right after I left, it’s human nature [to root against USC]. It’s the ego involved. We think everyone’s comparing, which they aren’t.
Garrett
Haden didn’t know what the hell he was doing. So the place got worse, morale got bad. There’s no question in my mind if he gave Lane the time and the support and didn’t think of him as a Mike Garrett selection, Lane would’ve been successful.
Kiffin
I didn’t do well. [My wife] said, “Utilize this time with your kids and family.” I just sat around and felt sorry for myself and watched football games all the time.
I needed a job. I didn’t have balance. My job defined me. My job was my higher power. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to exist without my job.
Kiffin found salvation in the most unlikely of places — at Alabama, with staid, stoic, understated coach Nick Saban. The results on the field were incredible, with Kiffin reimagining the old-school Alabama offense as an up-tempo attack that brought the Tide in line with the modern game. Off the field, however, the Saban-Kiffin dynamic was … complicated.
Kiffin
[Saban] and [agent] Jimmy Sexton called me when I was [an assistant] at USC, we’d won the [2005] Orange Bowl. Offers me the offensive coordinator job [with the Miami Dolphins]. He’d watched us in the Orange Bowl. We’d just smoked Oklahoma. I didn’t go. Then he gets the Alabama job [in 2007]. After I was fired, he said, “Hey come out here and watch practice.” I did. I spent 10 days out there, got to know him a little bit, and the offensive coordinator job opened up a month later and he called me.
Weber
When Lane left L.A., he sold his house to Vince Vaughn, the actor. You’ve got to have a pretty good house if you’re able to sell it to Vince Vaughn.
Kiffin
That is accurate, yes. [Vaughn] was on “College GameDay.” He picked Alabama and not us. I thought maybe he’d say, “Well, I bought Lane Kiffin’s house, so I better pick them.”
Locksley
Lane and Coach [Saban] are probably more similar than they are different in terms of football. Lane’s a social media darling. That side is different. Coach is more reserved, more conservative. But if you spend enough time with Lane, they’re both high, high, high intelligence levels, great problem-solvers, tremendous ability to communicate. Now, the social media, the outside-the-box stuff that Lane does, that’s obviously different.
Kiffin
Two polar opposite people. The one common theme is ultracompetitive, but outside of that, very different people. Especially back then.
It had its ups and downs. If I were to redo it perfectly, I say you should get a two-day seminar from someone — like a previous offensive coordinator — I would have done it better if I’d had a 48-hour seminar with McElwain or something to explain how it works.
When you say, “Hey, Coach, what do you think about this?” and I think that’s just normal conversation. He’s interpreting it as I’m questioning the process. Because you sit in the staff meetings and nobody talks. I remember looking at Kirby [Smart] or Billy Napier and thinking, “Does anybody say anything but ‘Yes, sir?'” Coach could walk in and say, “This week we’re going to play with 10 players,” and everyone would say, “Yes, sir, great idea.”
But I take all the blame for that there was friction at first. The production worked. But communication and relationship didn’t. I take blame for that because it’s not his job to change. It’s my job to change.
For Kiffin, the on-field success did help him find closure on his exit at USC. At the conclusion of the 2015 season, Alabama won a national title with Kiffin calling the plays. It came almost 10 years to the day after the Trojans’ historic loss to Texas in the national championship game, when Kiffin had notoriously left Reggie Bush on the sideline in the game’s critical, final moments.
Then came Alabama’s 2016 season opener against a familiar adversary: USC.
Locksley
That was actually my first game I was at Bama for [as an offensive analyst]. Going into the game, knowing the situation of Lane and USC and being fired on the tarmac, infamously he’d put something at the top of the call sheet that we all had — either the date or the time that he was fired.
Kiffin
It was the time.
Locksley
I remember in the middle of the game, we were winning pretty handily, and anybody who’s worked for Coach [Saban] knows he’s a class act when it comes to that stuff. He made the decision — when he tells you to take the air out of the ball, as he likes to say, that means slow things down. We don’t need to try to score. Keep the clock moving.
Well, Lane missed that conversation on the headset, and threw a Sluggo touchdown to Gehrig Dieter, and I can remember Coach on the headset saying, “Hey man, does it make you feel any better that you’re doing this? Does it get you your job back?”
And I can remember Lane saying, ‘No, it doesn’t, but it sure feels good.’
And Coach went off on him after that.
After the game, Kiffin posted a photo of his son with the game ball and the hashtag: “3:14AM-LAX.“
Post game w the game ball!!! #3:14AM-LAX pic.twitter.com/cxQkJ89254
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) September 4, 2016
Tessalone
We were talking one time and he goes, “You know my nickname when I was a kid, right?” I said no. He goes, “It was ‘Helicopter.’ Because when I was a kid, I would walk into a room and just stir everything up.”
Davis
Someday, when they write an epitaph for Lane Kiffin, it’s going to be, “He couldn’t help himself.”
Kiffin’s relationship with Saban ultimately blew up after the College Football Playoff semifinal in Atlanta. Kiffin had already accepted the head-coaching job at FAU, and Saban was supposedly concerned that his offensive coordinator already had one foot out the door. Kiffin and Alabama parted ways just a week before the national championship game. He was replaced, again, with Steve Sarkisian.
Nick Saban, Alabama head coach, in 2017
This wasn’t an easy decision, and we appreciate the way Lane handled this in terms of doing what is best for our team. At the end of the day, both of us wanted to put our players in the best position to be successful.
Kiffin
I think a lot of times, I was a jerk. Maybe stubborn is the better word. Just to remember, this is his program. If he says to wear pink underwear, you wear pink underwear. I was so used to the open communication thing, I really struggled with that transition.
Locksley
When I think of Lane, I think of the California cool kid. Being at Alabama really emphasized the importance of structure and having processes and building a program. You can see the role that Coach played — not just in Lane but in a lot of us that came through that program that Coach Saban has built.
Kiffin
Probably not a day goes by where there’s not something that I say [that’s] something he says or think of something [Saban] says. He’s kind of like a parent. I was raised by my dad and had, like, two stepdads in Pete Carroll and Nick Saban. You can still hear those voices. That happens to me a lot. Coach doesn’t pick up the phone and go, “Hey, man. What are you doing? Just driving home and going fishing.” That doesn’t happen. But a lot of times, out of nowhere, I’ll just [text], “Thanks again.”
It was at FAU where Kiffin finally found a fresh start. For the first time in his career, he was at a place that didn’t have national title aspirations. He was building, rather than inheriting, a program.
Chun
He was so well-prepared in his interview. He addressed all the Twitter rumors about himself, very upfront. But it was a very thoughtful, engaging presentation on him as a head football coach, the lessons he learned on his very unique journey and where that put him at in that moment and why he was prepared to be a head coach again.
Kiffin
After we won to go to a bowl game, they bowled in the locker room. I’d never been anywhere that celebrated six wins. And it was so cool because it was on a smaller stage where people were enjoying it — not for what it gives you, but for the enjoyment of the game. And you were giving players something they hadn’t had before. You’re supposed to start that way — Urban [Meyer] at Bowling Green, Saban at Toledo. You’re supposed to start down and work up. You’re not supposed to get your first job at 31 in the NFL and then Tennessee and USC.
Jon Gordon, author and motivational speaker
I’d never liked him. Never liked his public persona, and I didn’t expect to like him. But I went to visit him and I actually liked him a lot. He was beginning the process of wanting to make a change.
Kiffin
I saw a podcast the other day on the rapper Macklemore, and he’s talking about, he’s winning the Grammy. He’s on stage. He’s got everything. And he’s not fulfilled. And later, he’s in rehab. He’s making coffee in the morning for people. He’s serving others. And he says, “I felt more fulfilled doing that than when I was on stage.” I feel like I can relate to that. I can tell people, there are trophies and wins and new contracts and things. I’m not saying they’re not great, but that’s not true fulfillment.
I wouldn’t have said that 10 years ago.
Three years after being hired at FAU, Kiffin landed another Power 5 job — back in the SEC at Ole Miss. He’s still a lightning rod for public scrutiny, but he has shown he has a sense of humor about most of it, publicly tweaking Saban routinely, interacting with fans and critics alike on social media, and finding something approaching a sense of peace with his place in the college football universe.
Weber
He had a lot of learning experiences.
Browne
I remember the criticism around him, some people would champion the point that he was not great with the media, and he wasn’t personable, and you fast forward a decade and he’s maybe the most personable, real coach out there.
He’s set a standard for what it means to be a coach in the social media era.
Helton
To take a step back and it really jumps you three steps forward. I’m just so happy for him to see the maturity and really the peace that he has. He’s still innovative.
Graf
Looking at Lane now, he has a lot of fun. He talks s—. He has fun with his players. If he was more like that during his SC days, things may have panned out different.
McKay
I’m sorry for what happened to Lane at SC, but I think things happen for a reason, and he’s moved on and is a hell of a football coach.
Kiffin
I think people go their whole life without being glad that bad things happen. They hold anger and resentment — toward the people, the AD, the fans. They don’t ever let that go. And it only hurts them. It didn’t hurt USC if I was mad at them. So, I let that go. And I’m glad I’ve had this experience.
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Eli Lederman
College football coaching staffs are off the trail. Top recruits are flocking to campuses across the country. At long last, official visit season is here.
The busiest stretch of the annual recruiting calendar has commenced with elite prospects traversing the country for official visits from now to the start of the quiet period June 22. As things stand, 146 of the prospects ranked inside the 2026 ESPN 300 are already committed. That number will skyrocket over the summer months as top programs race to fill out their recruiting classes and rising high school seniors settle on their college homes.
USC, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Clemson entered June with the top five classes in ESPN’s latest team recruiting rankings for the class of 2026. Here’s a primer on the state of play across the class as the latest recruiting cycle begins in earnest this month:
Jump to a tier:
Spring recap | Five-star outlook | QB dominoes
ESPN 300 news | Flip watch | Big visit weekends
What has gone down this spring?
The four months since national signing day closed the door on the 2025 class have delivered plenty of fireworks in the 2026 cycle.
Miami offensive tackle commit Jackson Cantwell (No. 3 overall) and Georgia quarterback pledge Jared Curtis (No. 5) stand among the five five-star prospects who have committed since March 1, leaving only 10 five-star recruits on the board. The 2026 quarterback market has similarly narrowed this spring following the pledges of Curtis, Brady Smigiel (No. 44 — Michigan), Peyton Falzone (No. 235 — Penn State), Kayd Coffman (No. 237 — Michigan State) and Derek Zammit (No. 243 — Washington).
No program holds more ESPN 300 commits than USC with 13, headlined by five-star pledges Elbert Hill (No. 15 overall) and Keenyi Pepe (No. 17). Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Clemson, Texas A&M, Arizona State, LSU and Georgia have charted some of the strongest starts in the latest cycle. Beyond the blue bloods, Kansas, Syracuse, Illinois and Louisville are recruiting at an impressive clip six months out from the early signing period in December.
Five-star outlook
As of Monday, 11 of ESPN’s 21 five-star prospects in the 2026 cycle are committed. What’s next for the remaining 10? Things are about to heat up for the nation’s most coveted recruits.
DT Lamar Brown, No. 1 in the 2026 ESPN 300: The two-way lineman from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, told ESPN he’s now being recruited exclusively as a defensive lineman. Brown took an official visit with Miami over the weekend, and he’ll head to finalists Texas (Friday), Texas A&M (June 13) and LSU (June 20) ahead of his July 10 commitment date after swapping a trip to Florida State for this weekend’s visit with the Longhorns.
ESPN’s top overall prospect attends high school on the LSU campus, and the Tigers are clear leaders in Brown’s process, but plenty can change this month.
“It’d be hard for me to leave Louisiana,” he said. “But it may not be the best option for me. That’s why I’m looking at other teams and relationships with other coaches.”
RB Derrek Cooper, No. 7 in the 2026 ESPN 300: The nation’s No. 1 running back prospect opened his slate of official visits at Miami and will get to Alabama (Friday), Georgia (June 13), Florida State (June 15), Penn State (June 17) and Ohio State (June 20) over the next month.
Cooper, who held a short-lived commitment to Georgia last summer, remains high on the Bulldogs as well as Ohio State. Another prominent contender for the versatile rusher from Hollywood, Florida, is Miami, which is pushing hard to add Cooper alongside offensive tackle pledge Jackson Cantwell as the program’s second five-star cornerstone for 2026.
DE JaReylan McCoy, No. 9 in the 2026 ESPN 300: McCoy’s recruitment appeared wrapped up when he committed to LSU on Jan. 2. But the pass rusher from Tupelo, Mississippi, decommitted from the Tigers a month later.
Though Auburn, Ole Miss and Texas A&M have lingered in McCoy’s process this spring, sources told ESPN that the nation’s No. 2 defensive end is down to three schools: Florida, LSU and Texas. McCoy is taking official visits with all three programs — starting with Florida this past weekend ahead of trips to Texas (June 13) and LSU (June 20) — before announcing his commitment July 1.
OT Immanuel Iheanacho, No. 12 in the 2026 ESPN 300: The nation’s top uncommitted offensive tackle is down to Auburn, LSU, Oregon and Penn State and plans to announce his pledge in early August. Iheanacho opened his series of spring official visits with LSU then will be at Auburn (Friday), Penn State (June 13) and Oregon (June 20).
After Oregon missed out on Cantwell and five-star quarterback Jared Curtis last month, sources told ESPN that the Ducks entered June as the leader in Iheanacho’s process. His three other finalists will all get their chance to sway the 6-foot-7, 350-pound lineman this month, with LSU seen as the most serious contender to challenge Oregon for Iheanacho’s commitment.
OLB Tyler Atkinson, No. 13 in the 2026 ESPN 300: ESPN’s top linebacker opened his official visit slate with a trip to Clemson over the weekend. Atkinson does not yet have any other official trips on the calendar, but Auburn, Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon stand among the prominent powers expected to land visits in the coming weeks and months.
Georgia might enter the summer with a slight edge for the productive in-state linebacker from Loganville. However, Atkinson’s recruitment remains wide open as of now.
ATH Brandon Arrington, No. 14 in the 2026 ESPN 300: Projected to play cornerback at the next level, Arrington will have taken official visits with Penn State, Washington, Texas A&M, Alabama and USC by the time he wraps his trip to Oregon on June 20.
Oregon, Texas A&M and USC have been the consistent leaders in Arrington’s recruitment over the past year. Washington has entered the mix as a late-arriving contender. All six schools will continue to be involved in the chase for Arrington’s pledge up to his July 5 commitment date.
DE Richard Wesley, No. 18 in the 2026 ESPN 300: Wesley’s May 10 commitment to Oregon lasted all of 17 days. Upon pulling his pledge from the Ducks last week, Wesley’s recruitment remains open as the coveted 2027 reclass works through an accelerated process.
The circumstances of Wesley’s surprise pledge and subsequent decommitment from Oregon hasn’t soured his relationship with the program. He’ll return for an official visit with the Ducks on Friday before trips to Texas (June 20) and Ohio State (Aug. 30). Tennessee and Texas A&M are among others working to land an official visit date with Wesley.
TE Kaiden Prothro, No. 19 in the 2026 ESPN 300: The lanky 6-7, 210-pound receiving tight end from Bowdon, Georgia, opened an all-SEC run of official visits at Georgia over the weekend. Alabama (Friday), Auburn (June 10), Florida (June 13) and Texas (June 20) are next in line as the recruitment of the highly rated tight end prospect gains steam.
Georgia, with family ties and a history of developing tight ends, appears the most likely destination for Prothro while Auburn and Florida are two other programs pushing especially hard in his recruitment this spring.
OT Felix Ojo, No. 20 in the 2026 ESPN 300: A promising offensive line recruit, Ojo will end up taking a whopping eight official visits between April 18 and June 20. He already has made stops at Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Colorado, Florida and Ohio State this spring and will travel to Michigan (June 7), Texas (June 13) and Oklahoma (June 20) over the next month.
Ojo tells ESPN that Ohio State, Texas and Texas Tech have been the most aggressive programs in his recruitment this spring. He’s aiming to commit before the start of his senior season, so the relationships Ojo builds over the next month of visits will be central to his process.
DE Jake Kreul, No. 21 in the 2026 ESPN 300: A disruptive pass rusher from Florida’s IMG Academy, Kreul will visit Florida (June 7), Texas (June 13) and Oklahoma (June 20) this month following previous officials to Colorado and Ohio State this spring.
No program has worked harder to assert itself in Kreul’s recruitment than Oklahoma. Per ESPN sources, the Sooners view the 6-foot-3, 235-pound defender as a priority target in 2026. Among the top challengers for Kreul’s pledge, expect Texas and Ohio State to be heavily involved this summer.
Landing spots for the top uncommitted quarterbacks
The month began with only four of the 18 passers ranked inside the 2026 ESPN 300 uncommitted with nearly a dozen top programs still searching for a 2026 QB pledge. How might things unfold for the quarterback market’s top recruits over the next three months?
QB Ryder Lyons, No. 49 in the 2026 ESPN 300: ESPN’s fifth-ranked pocket passer has courted interest from BYU, Michigan, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon and USC this spring. Three of those programs — BYU, Oregon and USC — will get Lyons on campus over the next month.
BYU has made some surprise splashes on the recruiting trail this spring, and USC is working to get the in-state quarterback to join his brother, Walker, with the Trojans. But ahead of official visits on each of the next three weekends, it’s Oregon that looks most likely to land Lyons, who will enroll in 2027 following an LDS mission after his high school graduation.
QB Landon Duckworth, No. 104 in the 2025 ESPN 300: Auburn, Florida State, Ole Miss and South Carolina are all-in on the nation’s top dual-threat quarterback. While all four programs will host Duckworth for officials this spring, sources tell ESPN that Ole Miss and South Carolina have established themselves as clear leaders in his process this spring.
Coach Lane Kiffin and the Rebels have worked harder than any other school in Duckworth’s recruitment, selling the mobile passer on his fit in the Ole Miss offense and the program’s record of development at the position. South Carolina, which previously held Duckworth’s pledge from August 2023 to June 2024, continues to maintain a strong presence in his process, as well. Visits with both programs in the coming weeks will be pivotal for Duckworth.
QB Oscar Rios, No, 192 in the 2026 ESPN 300: The former Purdue pledge holds a list of seven finalists — Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Utah and Virginia Tech — ahead of visits to Utah, UCLA, Arizona and Colorado this month following earlier trips to Kentucky, Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech.
Kentucky remains a leader among the schools Rios has already visited. Plenty can change across the string of visits in front of him in the coming weeks ahead of a June 25 commitment date, days after Rios closes his run of officials with a visit to Colorado.
QB Bowe Bentley, No. 261 in the 2025 ESPN 300: The dual-threat quarterback from Celina, Texas, is down to LSU and Oklahoma. Bentley spent this past weekend with the Tigers and will make his latest trip to the Sooners this coming weekend, part of a swing of back-to-back officials that could help decide one of the most intriguing quarterback recruitments in the cycle.
Sources within both programs feel confident about their chances with Bentley, who is likely to make a decision not long after wrapping up his pair of official visits early this month.
Elite skill position recruits and top defenders
Past the five-star firepower, there’s plenty more available talent in the upper crust of the 2026 class.
Four of the nation’s top five running backs remain uncommitted this month, led by No. 1 Derrek Cooper. No. 2 rusher Savion Hiter (No. 27 overall) will take officials with Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan and Tennessee prior to the quiet period. Ezavier Crowell, a reclass from the 2027 cycle, is set to commit on June 26 after ESPN’s No. 30 prospect visits Georgia, Texas, Auburn, Florida State and Alabama. Baylor, Florida and Houston are all on the list for four-star rusher Davian Groce (No. 35), whose recruitment remains “wide open,” per ESPN sources.
LSU and Texas A&M stand as the top contenders for four-star wide receiver Ethan Feaster (No. 23 overall) ahead of his July 4 commitment date. Elsewhere in the wide receiver class, sources tell ESPN that Florida, Florida State and LSU are setting the pace for Calvin Russell (No. 26), while Alabama continues to lead the chase for in-state pass catcher Cederian Morgan (No. 47).
On defense, Alabama and Oregon hold a slight edge with four-star safety Jett Washington (No. 22 overall) as the nation’s top safety preps for officials with both schools along with Ohio State and USC. The Crimson Tide are also leading the charge for outside linebacker Xavier Griffin (No. 28), the former USC commit who will visit Florida State, Georgia, Texas after a trip to Ohio State over the weekend.
Four-star safety Jireh Edwards (No. 29) has set his commitment date for July 5 and already visited Auburn and Maryland in recent weeks. Edwards told ESPN that he’s heading into upcoming trips to Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M and Oregon with “an open mind.” Sources tell ESPN that defensive end Anthony Jones (No. 25) and outside linebacker D.Q. Forkpa (No. 40) are two of the top defenders on the board this spring for Miami and coach Mario Cristobal.
Flip watch
DE Zion Elee, No. 2 in the 2026 ESPN 300, Maryland commit
Elee was slated for a series of summer officials across the Big Ten and SEC before he closed his recruitment and cancelled those trips in February. That’s why his official visit to Auburn last month raised eyebrows, even while Elee asserts he’s still locked in with the Terps.
“I have a bunch of former teammates there so I just wanted to check it out,” he told ESPN. “I wasn’t thinking anything of it. I’m still firm with Maryland. I just wanted to take pictures.”
The historic local class Maryland dreamed of building around Elee — think Iheanacho, Edwards et al — doesn’t appear likely. And with blue bloods still pursuing Elee this spring, his recruitment will remain one to watch from now to signing day. As things stand, Elee is committed to the Terps with plans to return to Maryland for his only scheduled official visit of the month on June 20.
WR Tristen Keys, No. 10 in the 2026 ESPN 300, LSU commit
Keys has been the top-ranked member of the Tigers’ 2026 class since March 19, but the LSU pledge hasn’t kept ESPN’s No. 2 wide receiver from taking other visits. After spring trips to Auburn, Miami, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, Keys was back at Miami for an official over the weekend.
Following his Hurricanes visit, sources tell ESPN that Keys will get to Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee and Texas A&M for officials this month before his June 20 trip to LSU. As Keys keeps his recruitment, coach Brian Kelly’s ability to hang onto five-star talent will be tested again this cycle.
QB Keisean Henderson, No. 16 in the 2026 ESPN 300, Houston commit
Programs across the Big Ten and ACC spent the spring chipping away at Henderson’s Houston commitment. Florida State finally broke through this month, landing a June 9 official visit from the mobile, 6-foot-3 passer.
Henderson has held firm on his pledge to the Cougars while maintaining dialogue with multiple programs this spring. While sources tell ESPN that there has been no change in his commitment status or plans with Houston, Henderson’s visit to Florida State marks new territory in his recruitment.
QB Jaden O’Neal, No. 122 in the 2026 ESPN 300, Oklahoma commit
Despite 11 months spent in the Sooners’ 2026 class and an offseason transfer from California to Oklahoma’s Mustang High School, O’Neal could soon be on the move.
The departure of Sooners offensive coordinator Seth Littrell last fall unsettled O’Neal’s camp, and sources tell ESPN that the program’s full-throttle pursuit of Bowe Bentley under new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle has damaged the trust between O’Neal and Oklahoma. O’Neal visited Arizona over the weekend, and his upcoming official trip to Florida State looms especially large with Bentley nearing a decision and quarterback dominoes getting ready to fall this month.
Biggest visits
Alabama (June 6-8): The Crimson Tide’s first recruiting class under coach Kalen DeBoer got rolling in June last year. Alabama could go a long way toward turbocharging its 2026 class this weekend with four top-30 recruits on campus between five-star skill talents Derrek Cooper (No. 7 overall) and Kaiden Prothro (No. 19) and four-star defenders Xavier Griffin (No. 28) and Jireh Edwards (No. 29).
Auburn (June 13-15): The Tigers will have a big name on campus this weekend when five-star offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho (No. 12 overall) takes his official trip to Auburn. But the weekend of June 13 will give coach Hugh Freeze and his staff a shot at multiple elite targets, including running back Ezavier Crowell (No. 30), safety Bralan Womack (No. 31) and wide receiver Cederian Morgan (No. 47).
Florida (June 13-15): While the Gators will have elite prospects on campus all month, Florida has a chance to build momentum with several top targets two weekends from now. Prothro and No. 4 running back Davian Groce (No. 35 overall) headline a talented group of visitors that could also include top-40 linebacker Izayia Williams — who flipped from Florida to Ole Miss last month — and defensive tackle Kendall Guervil (No. 253), a priority in-state recruit.
Florida State (June 9-15): It’s not exactly a weekend, but the Seminoles will embark on a defining stretch of quarterback visits in the middle of the month. It’ll start with a visit from five-star passer Keisean Henderson (No. 16 overall) before top dual-threat passer Landon Duckworth (No. 104) on June 13 and Oklahoma pledge Jaden O’Neal (No. 112) on June 15 also make visits.
Georgia (June 6-8): The Bulldogs will host a series of heavy hitters this weekend with running back Savion Hiter (No. 27 overall), cornerback Chauncey Kennon (No. 48) and offensive tackle Ekene Ogboko (No. 50) set to visit. Georgia gets Cooper, another top running back target, on campus starting June 13.
Michigan (June 13-15): Coach Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines will welcome eight top-150 prospects on June 13. Hiter, No. 3 athlete Salesi Moa (No. 34 overall) and outside linebacker D.Q. Forkpa (No. 40) lead the group of blue-chip visitors. Top-75 offensive tackles John Turntine III (No. 43) and Leo Delaney (No. 75) mark another pair of key visitors.
Notre Dame (June 20-22): The Fighting Irish will host roughly a dozen commits from June 13 to 15 but could continue to bolster the nation’s second-ranked class a week later. Notre Dame will look to leave a lasting impression on Ogboko, ESPN’s No. 8 offensive tackle, four-star defensive tackle Elijah Golden (No. 84 overall) and athlete Joey O’Brien (No. 102) on the final weekend before the summer quiet period.
Oregon (June 20-22): Coach Dan Lanning will get his top 2026 commit — five-star tight end Kendre’ Harrison — on campus on the final official visit weekend of June with a chance to make a mark with a number of other key Oregon targets. Iheanacho and Edwards are set to visit on June 20 alongside five-star athlete Brandon Arrington (No. 14 overall), outside linebacker Talanoa Ili (No. 53), cornerback Khary Adams (No. 68) and athlete Jalen Lott (No. 108).
Sports
‘As wired at breakfast as he is at game time’: What Brad Marchand has brought to the Panthers
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Greg Wyshynski
SUNRISE, Fla. — Brad Marchand has regrets.
He didn’t want to leave the Boston Bruins, the team that drafted him in 2006, won a Stanley Cup with him in 2011 and that he captained for the past two seasons after Patrice Bergeron retired. The team with whom he gained fame with 976 points in 1,090 games, as well as infamy as one of the NHL’s most accomplished agitators. He dreamed about being a one-team guy, one of the rarest accomplishments for veteran stars in a transient sport.
Marchand regrets not being able to say goodbye to Boston fans on his own terms before the NHL trade deadline.
“I got hurt before I got traded. The last game I’ll ever play in a Bruins jersey was not the last game I thought I was ever going to play in a Bruins jersey,” he said.
Marchand’s final home game in Boston was a loss to the New York Islanders on Feb. 27. His final game with the Bruins was March 3 in Pittsburgh. He was traded to the Florida Panthers on March 7, the result of a contract impasse with Boston management and the team’s pivot to a retool.
He fought back tears in his first public appearance as a Panther. “At the end of the day, I know the business is the business and everybody has a shelf life,” he said. “I am grateful, beyond words, for everything that organization has done for me.”
Marchand regrets not appreciating all the experiences he had in Boston.
“When you come to the rink, it can be stressful. You start overthinking things. There’s this pressure you sometimes put on yourself. You start stressing about things that you don’t need to stress about,” he said. “I know that there are moments that I missed out on or didn’t really appreciate because I was stressing about other things.”
For example, the Bruins had 135 points in 2022-23, becoming the most successful regular-season team in NHL history. The Panthers shocked the league — and began their nascent dynasty — with a seven-game upset in the first round of the playoffs that ended the series at a funeral-pitched TD Garden.
“We thought we were going to go to the finals that year. We thought we were going to win it all, and then we got pushed out in the first round,” Marchand said. “You start looking back at those moments and you realize you took all we did that season for granted because we were so worried about going to the finals. We weren’t living in the moment.”
Those are old regrets for the new Brad Marchand. The playoff disappointment, the breakup with the Bruins, the deadline trade … they were all shocks to his system that reoriented his thinking.
“I’m just not going to do that to myself this time around,” he said. “I’m coming to the rink every day just having fun and trying to live in the moment, not taking anything too seriously.”
0:44
Panthers pour it on with 2 more quick goals
The Panthers net two more goals in just over a minute to pad their lead vs. the Hurricanes.
Marchand started to rethink his own mindfulness when he arrived in Florida.
“My family’s not here and I have a lot more time to sit home and think and go over things in my head than I normally do,” he said. “Being here, they talk about being in the moment. Just going day by day. About taking time to reflect on things and appreciate them.”
And so Marchand decided he was just going to enjoy himself during this run with the Panthers, which finds them back in the Stanley Cup Final, seeking a second straight championship against the Edmonton Oilers, whom they defeated in Game 7 for the Cup last season.
“I’m literally just trying to have fun out there and have fun in here,” he said, motioning to the dressing room.
“The Dairy Queen thing is a great example.”
THE “DAIRY QUEEN THING” sprang from an interview between Marchand and Sportsnet rinkside reporter Kyle Bukauskas. He asked Marchand about a run to Dairy Queen that the Panthers made during the Eastern Conference finals games in Raleigh, and then introduced a clip of Marchand eating something with a spoon in between periods of Florida’s Game 3 win. Bukauskas asked Marchand if he was “refueling with a Blizzard” in the locker room.
Marchand extolled the virtues of the chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard as “the best dessert in the world,” and made a pitch to DQ PR for a lifetime supply of the frozen treats for that endorsement.
“We had a little fun on the off day. There was a DQ by the hotel. We popped over and enjoyed our night,” Marchand explained.
This interview went viral, with many fans (and media) taking it as gospel that Marchand had been eating ice cream in between periods. His teammates were interviewed about it. Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice was asked about it during his news conferences.
Days later, Marchand was finally asked about eating ice cream in the locker room during a game.
“It wasn’t a Blizzard,” Marchand said, with a tone that rendered the accusation absurd. “I was not eating a Blizzard in the middle of a game.”
Marchand explained that he was referencing the Panthers’ trip to Dairy Queen during the Sportsnet interview. “I was referencing that. I was making a joke about our excursion a couple of nights before. Just kind of making a joke off of it and I think people took it seriously,” he said.
After the interview went viral, Marchand said his phone blew up with messages from people saying they were inspired by him to go to Dairy Queen.
“I appreciate the support,” he said. “I love a good Blizzard more than anybody, but it’s not something I’ve had in the middle of the game.”
For many, this was never really about whether Marchand was wolfing down ice cream in his dressing room stall. It was essentially a tribute to the mercurial nature of the star winger that he reasonably could have been the guy eating Dairy Queen between periods. There’s something indelible about the most agitating player on the ice celebrating his wickedness with spoonfuls of cookie dough ice cream during intermission.
But it wasn’t ice cream or cookie dough or peanut butter. Marchand eventually revealed he was caught consuming “something healthy” on camera.
“It was honey. I was having honey. It was a spoonful of honey.”
Because he’s sweet?
“Because I’m a bear,” he responded.
Marchand said he has always had an affinity for honey.
“Actually, when I was growing up, I loved Winnie the Pooh. So I used to have a Winnie the Pooh [doll] and I used to feed the bear honey. So it was covered with honey and would get rock hard,” he said. “I don’t think [my parents] enjoyed cleaning up the mess. But I had fun.”
Marchand paused for effect.
“It’s what we do in Halifax. We feed teddy bears honey.”
Everyone laughed.
IT’S STILL SURREAL to think about where Marchand started in his NHL career to where he has ended up.
When the Bruins won the Cup in 2011, Marchand was a brash 23-year-old winger whose burgeoning offensive game was secondary to his extracurricular activities on the ice. Like when he used Vancouver Canucks winger Daniel Sedin as a punching bag in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, delivering around six shots to his face without the on-ice officials stepping in.
When asked why he kept punching Sedin, Marchand responded, “Because I felt like it.”
He was the guy who got a misspelled tattoo after the Bruins won the Cup.
“Let me clear something up. After we won, a bunch of us got tattoos here in the dressing room of the Garden. Mine originally was misspelled,” he said in an ESPN player diary. “Instead of saying Stanley Cup Champions it said ‘Stanley Cup Champians.’ I don’t even know how that happened.”
(It was fixed before the next season.)
He was the player who was suspended six times by the NHL between 2011 and 2018 for illegal hits, and was given a six-game suspension as recently as 2022. He was a player known as much for his goading as his goal scoring.
But in 2025? Marchand was “an elder statesman” for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off, according to coach Jon Cooper.
“Love him. I can’t say enough great things about him, his energy and passion. He seems to find the fountain of youth any time he comes into one of these tournaments. He’s one of the guys everybody turns to when everything’s under fire,” Cooper said. “The loudest guy on the bench, pumping everybody up, is Brad Marchand. For somebody that’s been around as long as he has, he doesn’t have to do that.”
That energy is one of the things Maurice likes best about Marchand.
“He is such a unique guy. He’s as wired at breakfast as he is at game time,” he said.
0:37
Fortenbaugh’s best bet for Panthers-Oilers Stanley Cup rematch
Joe Fortenbaugh explains why he’s taking the Panthers to repeat as champions against the Oilers.
Maurice remembered when GM Bill Zito told him that the Panthers would be acquiring Matthew Tkachuk in 2022 and not believing he’d be able to pull it off. He had a similar reaction when Zito told him last summer that Chicago defenseman Seth Jones might be available. When Zito told him about Marchand, he knew it was real. “If he says it, then it could happen,” Maurice said.
Truth be told, Maurice didn’t believe the Panthers had “a huge hole” in their lineup for Marchand to fill. He was also concerned about how the 37-year-old would fit on a roster that was largely the same as the one that captured the Stanley Cup last season.
Two of Marchand’s former Bruins teammates are Panthers executives: Shawn Thornton, chief revenue officer, and Gregory Campbell, assistant general manager. They assured Maurice that Marchand would be an ideal Panther.
“There’s just many stories about bringing them high-end guys toward the end of their career and it doesn’t work and it doesn’t fit. But they were sure,” the coach recalled.
When Marchand arrived with the Panthers, Maurice soon understood the fit — on the ice and off the ice.
“His personality took some pressure off the rest of the guys. I actually have more quiet guys than we have loud guys. You all know that [Aleksander] Barkov is not doing a podcast when he’s done [playing],” Maurice said. “They’re like, ‘OK, Marchy’s here, he can do all the talking and we can just relax.'”
The Panthers had some talkers last season in forward Ryan Lomberg and defenseman Brandon Montour, who both left via free agency.
“Some of these guys start talking in their car and don’t stop until they left the rink. They just go on all the time,” Maurice said. “It was nice to have that element again that we kind of lost a little bit of it. He’s brought it back.”
Marchand has also learned through years when to hold his tongue with the media. Like when Carolina defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere intentionally shot the puck at Marchand in Game 1 of the conference finals, which led to Marchand getting a misconduct penalty. When Marchand was asked about his thoughts, he replied: “Yeah, I’m not much of a thinker.”
Maurice nodded to that moment in his news conference later that day.
“He’s a great interview. He’s very, very bright, even though I hear he is a man of very few thoughts,” he said, drawing laughs. “That’s a good line. I’m stealing it.”
ON THE ICE, Marchand has been primarily paired with center Anton Lundell, 23, and winger Eetu Luostarinen, 26, during the Panthers’ run to the Final, forming one of the most effective lines in the postseason. In 17 games together, the line has had 55% of the shot attempts when on the ice, 56% of the expected goals, has 4.2 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 and just 0.82 goals against per 60 minutes.
Maurice raved about what Marchand “has done with those two young players” on Florida’s third line. “The way they’ve expanded, the way they play … part of it is playing off him,” he said.
Marchand has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in the playoffs. Luostarinen has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) while Lundell has 12 points (five goals, seven assists).
Marchand had high praise for Luostarinen.
“He plays a man’s game. He plays through bodies. He’s hard on pucks, wins a lot of battles,” Marchand said. “He’s very, very skilled. He’s great with the puck. He doesn’t force plays. He’s very smart in the way that he plays.”
Marchand then bestowed the greatest accolade he could muster onto Luostarinen: He reminds Marchand of Bergeron, his six-time Selke Trophy-winning teammate with the Bruins.
“He’s so defensively good with the stick. It reminds me a lot of Bergy, where he leads with the stick a lot, kills a lot of plays that way and creates offense from that,” Marchand said.
Marchand said he enjoys playing with his Panthers linemates because they have similar “simple, direct” games.
“We just complement each other all over the ice because we read the game pretty well on both sides of it. We support each other pretty well, all the way up and down the ice and then in the corner,” he said. “So I think we just because of that, we’re able to create offense out, little scrums, stuff like that.”
He said skating with Lundell and Luostarinen has been revitalizing.
“They play fast and they play hard and they’re young, energetic guys. It keeps me feeling young,” Marchand said. “I’m lying to myself. I feel 25 again. I feel rejuvenated and part of that comes to playing with some younger guys and part of a really good group of guys in here.”
0:36
Panthers take care of Hurricanes in 5 to advance to Stanley Cup Final
The Florida Panthers win 5-3 in a back-and-forth Game 5 battle vs. the Hurricanes to advance to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final.
Marchand didn’t always feel they were good guys. Not when Matthew Tkachuk was terrorizing his Bruins in the playoffs in 2023 and 2024.
“He’s a competitor. He’s there to win. His reputation proceeds him,” Marchand said of Tkachuk. “One of the most gifted players in the league around the net. He brings an element to the group that brings guys swagger.”
Someone asked what opponents think about having Marchand and Tkachuk — two legendary provocateurs — on the ice for Florida.
“I mostly feel sorry for the guys in our room. Not too many guys are going to get a break here now,” Marchand said of him and Tkachuk. “It’s nice to be on his team rather than going against him, for sure.”
Then there’s Sam Bennett, who appeared to sucker punch Marchand during the Panthers’ playoff series win over the Bruins in 2024. It knocked Marchand out of the series for two games and didn’t result in further discipline for Bennett. At the trade deadline in 2025, they became teammates.
“I didn’t hold a grudge. Again, I know how this game’s played. I played a similar way,” Marchand said. “It’s something that we joke about. I can laugh it off. I joke about it all the time. I joke about it more than he does, but I definitely joke about it.”
Maurice said there’s a reason that hockey players who were the fiercest rivals can become teammates without much acrimony.
“I think you find out when a player walks in the room, even if he’s had his great battles, they’re so happy that it’s over. They don’t have to fight you anymore. They don’t have to hack and whack in the corner for 60 minutes,” Maurice said. “Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett are best friends now. A year ago, you would’ve never thought that could happen.”
A year ago, Brad Marchand becoming a Florida Panther wasn’t something many believed could happen, although it makes perfect sense now: The Rat King, joining the franchise that celebrates wins by throwing plastic rats on the ice.
In fact, Marchand has become a new part of that tradition. After Florida wins, if there are rats on the ice, his teammates have taken to shooting the faux rodents at Marchand as they’re leaving for the dressing room.
“They see my family on the ice and want us to be together,” Marchand deadpanned.
As the playoffs have progressed, “they’re shooting to hurt now,” according to Marchand. “Matthew Tkachuk caught me with one last game that I actually really felt there,” he said.
Marchand is feeling a lot these days. The sting of the trade dissipates a little more with every playoff win. He’s having more fun and stressing less, among teammates with whom he has quickly bonded. And he’s a few wins from another Stanley Cup, in the third Final he has reached since winning his first ring 14 years ago.
“It’s exciting. You hope that you get to this point. Obviously, we have a great team and we played well so far. We got to the point where we want to be, but we haven’t accomplished anything yet,” Marchand said.
“I may never get back this late in the playoffs ever again in my career. These are memories and moments that you want to embrace.”
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