Blake Dowling
Have you ever lost an election, been fired or run out of an organization? Lane Kiffin has.
Currently, Kiffin coaches the Florida Atlantic University football team. Before that, he had stopped at the Raiders, USC and (for today’s purposes) the University of Tennessee.
I never met Lane, but I knew his ex-wife Layla in college. We went to an ATO date function together; she was a first-class individual, so I assumed Lane was a putz, mostly based on him not being married to her anymore — as well as all the football firings.
Perhaps I was wrong.
Kiffin showed the world the hilarity and power of social media this week with a (far beyond) humorous post about his former employer, the Tennessee Vols.
As you may know, the Vols have had a heck of a time filling its vacant coaching position. They tried to hire Greg Schiano, but the campus protested.
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit asked: “Why would anyone want to go there?”
So, Lane takes an opportunity to tweet the above image, lighting up the internet like Frank the Tank at the Governors Club on a Monday night. As of this minute, 84,000 likes.
Well played, sir; revenge is a tweet best served frigid.
And, of course, at Florida State this week, the rumor mill is going crazy about Jimbo Fisher to Texas A&M, with which the school was struggling until Friday’s announcement.
The Jimbo era is over.
The last week struggles included, a fan on the call-in show gets shoved and microphone yanked out of his hand for asking Jimbo about loyalty to the program.
He responded so politely, he earns a round of applause.
The school, thanks to social media and traditional media, is being raked over the coals. Way to be a good fan, Mike.
CBS tells the whole story, and the must-watch video is here.
Not sure how an institution of higher learning such as FSU can tolerate people being physically intimidated for asking a fair question of a public official.
— Skip Foster (@skipfoster) November 30, 2017
In North Florida, everyone is weighing in; my pal Skip Foster makes a very good point (see above).
Now the administration must clean up the mess, and find a new head coach.
How about UF and their recent frantic coaching search, you might ask? Comedian Scooter Magruder hits the home run describing it in his own words.
For the betterment of humanity, for getting elected, snarky revenge comments and pointing out the miscues of others, social media is there, in your face each and every day.
Your online brand, behavior, and participation can make the difference in being hired, elected or even getting a date.
It’s a crazy world out there; make sure to behave, in reality, and cyberly (new word).
I bumped into Sen. Bill Nelson last weekend; his online presence, web, social media, etc. is on point and a splendid example of how to be conservative and well-mannered online (pun intended).
The first thing you see when you look at his Twitter feed is how to reach him. Well done.
So, whatever the future holds for Lane, Jimbo and Bill, we will be watching.
Happy holidays and start ordering those Christmas gifts!
If you need help from my office, please call (407) 872-7161 or contact us at https://t.co/ENXdbcELFN
— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) September 11, 2017
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Blake Dowling is CEO of Aegis Business Technologies; he can be reached at [email protected].
