ESPN reporter Marty Smith has built a reputation on his energetic storytelling and dogged pursuit of a good interview. Yet even by his standards, the lengths he went to on Sunday were extreme. He secured an exclusive conversation with Lane Kiffin just as the coach left Ole Miss for LSU, creating a nearly cinematic moment.
During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Smith explained how a simple tip about flight activity in Oxford quickly turned into an all-out pursuit. According to Smith, word began circulating that two LSU-chartered planes were headed toward the Oxford airport. At the same time, Kiffin had stopped responding to text messages about when an interview might happen. That’s when Smith’s instincts took over.
“There had been a lot of information coming in that two LSU planes were landing at the Oxford airport, and I was still waiting to get this information from him on when we might do this interview,” Smith said. “Nothing. Crickets. So I look at my guys. I’m like, boys, we’re going to airport. My journalism antenna went up.”
The ESPN crew headed toward the airport and waited in the cold for hours. Eventually, Smith said he received a short message from Kiffin: “We’re on the way.” That was enough to trigger a full scramble.
Complicating matters was the vehicle Smith had been assigned for the holiday week: a massive conversion van he jokingly described as “a loaf of bread.” The oversized ride became the center of relentless teasing from colleagues. However, it turned out to be the only reason Smith and his crew could move fast enough to keep up with Kiffin’s movements.
“I had been given at the Birmingham Airport Thanksgiving night this conversion van,” Smith said. “Now y’all this ain’t no minivan. This is like a sixteen-person… like driving a loaf of bread. If I didn’t have that van in that chaotic moment where we’re running to get Lane Kiffin, there’s no way I can fit my whole crew, all cameras, all the gear, in one vehicle.”
As Kiffin shared brief position updates by text, Smith and his team raced toward the Oxford airport. They traveled in a bulky van. What happened next sounded more like a scene out of The Dukes of Hazzard than a routine reporting assignment.
“When we take a left off this highway, there is all these fire trucks that have blocked off the road,” Smith said. “I said, to hell with it. We’re ‘Bo Dukeing’ this thing.” Smith then drove the van off-road, cutting through a field, past farm equipment, and over ditches in an effort to reach the tarmac as Kiffin arrived.
Eventually, Smith crested a hill, steered the van toward the runway, and spotted the coach standing outside the aircraft. The decision to trust his instincts — and risk a little off-road improvisation — paid off.
The resulting interview aired across ESPN platforms and became the final on-camera appearance of Kiffin’s Ole Miss tenure. It also became another example of Smith’s relentless approach to storytelling, proving once again that the chase sometimes becomes the story itself.
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