NFL Coach Called “Too Stingy” by His Daughter: Refuses Bag Fee, Carries Groceries Home in a Store Basket—Despite a $90M Salary

Lane Kiffin is a well-known figure in American football and currently serves as the head coach of Louisiana State University’s football program.

According to reports on December 27 (local time), Kiffin became the center of heated online discussion—less for anything on the field, and more because a short video made many viewers laugh at what they saw as an unexpectedly “stingy” everyday habit.

The person who brought that habit into the spotlight was Kiffin’s 21-year-old daughter, Landry Kiffin.

Landry, who frequently posts on social media and has more than 180,000 followers, shared a clip showing her father returning from a grocery run. In the video, the coach carries a large jug of milk and bottled water in one hand, while holding a plastic shopping basket filled with groceries in the other.

She captioned the post with: “First time letting him go to the store alone.” She then added, jokingly, that his “shopping privileges” had been revoked.

In the clip, Landry asks her father why he brought the basket home. Kiffin responds calmly that he had no other choice—because bags cost extra. He explained that the store charges for bags and, since it was self-checkout, he ended up carrying the basket out himself.

The video is only 16 seconds long, but it quickly went viral. On one platform alone, it reportedly surpassed 7 million views, with users reposting and commenting at a rapid pace. Some observers joked that Landry’s carefully curated content was effortlessly “outshined” by her father in flip-flops carrying a grocery basket.

Online reactions were mixed. Some people criticized the behavior, arguing that taking a store basket off the premises could be considered improper or even illegal, and urged him to return it. Others focused more on the humor, teasing him for being overly frugal and pointing out that a shopping bag is hardly expensive—especially for someone in his position.

And financially, the contrast is hard to miss. Reports say Kiffin and LSU signed a massive contract in late November worth as much as $91 million, making him one of the highest-paid college football coaches in U.S. history—ranked second by total value, behind Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.

Under that deal, Kiffin is set to coach the LSU Tigers for seven years, averaging roughly $13 million per year (about RMB 90 million). The contract also includes performance bonuses—such as up to $1 million for winning a national championship.

Kiffin’s move to LSU also sparked controversy. LSU is a major rival of the Ole Miss Rebels—Kiffin’s previous team—so news of his switch drew loud backlash from some Ole Miss fans when it became public.

Kiffin shares three children with his ex-wife, Layla Reeves. Landry, the eldest, often showcases her lifestyle and personal content online—prompting some netizens to joke that her father’s refusal to pay for shopping bags is simply his way of “balancing the budget.”

As some commenters put it: with spending happening somewhere in the household, maybe someone has to be the one who saves.