Lane Kiffin put on his reporter's hat Wednesday on social media, willing to dive in and ask an important question about an SEC rival program to his Ole Miss Rebels.
With the ... less-than-typical revelation that Auburn essentially is using a play-caller-by-committee approach to its upcoming season, the Tigers's third under Hugh Freeze and arguably the biggest referendum-year in Freeze's head-coaching run atop several FBS programs, Kiffin has a pertinent question.
FootballScoop's Zach Barnett outlined the Auburn offensive play-calling hierarchy (really, it's a thing) in his piece Wednesday on the site.
To recap:
If Auburn offensive coordinator Derrick Nix is calling plays on first down, quarterbacks coach Kent Austin on third down and the boss, Freeze, being acknowledged as the second-down commander-in-chief, Kiffin wants to know a key element.
Football is, after all, a four-down sport.
"So, does a fourth coach call fourth down?," Kiffin asked on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
So does a 4th coach call 4th downs?? 🤔@AuburnFootball https://t.co/CGw0r08Uwz
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) August 14, 2025
Look, especially at programs with offensive-minded, offensive-background head coaches, there's considerable input from the head man. And money downs, those crucial fourth-down and oftentimes pivotal third-down situations, a head coach always has power to make play-calls or veto those of others.
Still, a year after one of the most disjointed offensive seasons of any stop along Freeze's coaching career and in a season Freeze admits basically presents a must-win ethos, this is a curious -- dubious? -- tactic to deploy.
Auburn a year ago finished 71st nationally in scoring offense at 27.8 points per game; it scored 24 or fewer points in eight of its nine contests against Power Conference competition en route to a 5-7 finish that snapped Freeze's career-long stretch of always improving in Year 2 at his stops and advancing the win-loss bottomline.
Jackson Arnold, a transfer from Oklahoma and former high-profile national prospect, is the projected starter at quarterback, but the Tigers also are developing heralded five-star prospect Deuce Knight at the position.
The Tigers will be immediately tested in the coming season. They open Friday, Aug. 29, on the road at Big 12 program Baylor, which is coming off an eight-win season and has garnered some attention as a conference-title contender this season.
Auburn, after two money games at home, then has back-to-back road contests to begin SEC play at foes Oklahoma and Texas A&M.