SEC's Greg Sankey bans Lane Kiffin from 'Dan Patrick Show' to talk Nick Saban/Jimbo Fisher

Erik Hall, Mississippi Clarion Ledger
·2 min read
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Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin was scheduled to appear on "The Dan Patrick Show" on Friday.

But Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey derailed that appearance, according to Dan Patrick.

"Lane Kiffin was going to come on, but the commissioner of the SEC asked him not to comment on the Nick Saban, Jimbo Fisher situation," Patrick said.

Patrick then started discussing and mocking that Sankey had publicly reprimanded Alabama football coach Nick Saban and Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher on Thursday. Saban and Fisher had a public back-and-forth over the course of Wednesday and Thursday.

Dan Patrick is seen during a broadcast at the NFL Experience on Thursday, February 2, 2017, in Houston, Texas.
Dan Patrick is seen during a broadcast at the NFL Experience on Thursday, February 2, 2017, in Houston, Texas.

"I like how the SEC, the commissioner Greg Sankey reprimanded Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher," Patrick said. "Do you think out of all of this — and then Nick Saban goes, 'Yeah, I got reprimanded, too.' ... I don't know what that means that you got reprimanded. Lane Kiffin was going to join us, but the commissioner said he's not allowed to."

Patrick "Seton" O'Connor, the director of operations for "The Dan Patrick Show," chimed in several times while Patrick talked about Kiffin and Sankey.

"Might have really crossed the line now," O'Connor said of the public reprimands from Sankey.

Mar 8, 2020; Greenville, SC, USA; SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks after the game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the South Carolina Gamecocks during the SEC Conference Championship at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 8, 2020; Greenville, SC, USA; SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks after the game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the South Carolina Gamecocks during the SEC Conference Championship at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Kiffin is a frequent guest on "The Dan Patrick Show."

A comment by "The Dan Patrick Show" executive producer Paul Pabst later in the show indicated the directive from Sankey was not just aimed at Kiffin.

"Supposedly he's not letting the coaches talk to the media today," Pabst said.

Sankey's statement on the public reprimand of Saban and Fisher on Thursday stated, "The membership of the Southeastern Conference has established expectations for conduct and sportsmanship that were not met last night nor today. A hallmark of the SEC is intense competition within an environment of collaboration. Public criticism of any kind does not resolve issues and creates a distraction from seeking solutions for the issues facing college athletics today.

"There is tremendous frustration concerning the absence of consistent rules from state to state related to name, image and likeness. We need to work together to find solutions and that will be our focus at the upcoming SEC Spring Meetings.”

Here's more Nick Saban, Jimbo Fisher news: 

Jan 1, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin walks back into the locker room before the 2022 Sugar Bowl against the Baylor Bears at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin walks back into the locker room before the 2022 Sugar Bowl against the Baylor Bears at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Patrick is a former ESPN broadcaster and former host of NBC's "Football Night in America."

Erik Hall is the lead digital producer for sports with the USA Today Network. You can find him on Twitter @HallErik. 

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Greg Sankey bans Lane Kiffin from discussing Nick Saban, Jimbo Fisher