Gene Wojciechowski Pushes Back On ‘lazy Narrative’ That Espn Protects Jimmy Sexton’s Clients

Gene Wojciechowski spent 26 years at ESPN covering college football and plenty of Jimmy Sexton clients. Not once, he says, did the network try to influence his opinions or even mention agency client lists.

That’s the pushback the longtime ESPN writer offered after Mike Farrell suggested ESPN personalities might be going easy on Lane Kiffin to protect their access to Sexton’s entire client base.

“Such a lazy narrative,” Wojciechowski wrote on X. “I worked at ESPN for 26 years, mostly covering CFB in some form—and Sexton clients. Not once did ESPN try to influence my opinions or mention agency client lists. If you want to disagree with @KirkHerbstreit, fine. But do so on the merits of the argument.”

Such a lazy narrative…I worked at ESPN for 26 years, mostly covering CFB in some form—and Sexton clients. Not once did ESPN try to influence my opinions or mention agency client lists. If you want to disagree with @KirkHerbstreit, fine. But do so on the merits of the argument. https://t.co/bM396vahA5

— Gene Wojciechowski (@genowoj) November 30, 2025

It’s the same point Washington Post columnist and Phantom Island podcaster Steven Godfrey keeps hammering home. Godfrey had called ESPN’s handling of the Kiffin saga “disgusting,” arguing the narrative pushing Kiffin to stay at Ole Miss through the playoff — even if he takes the LSU job — was “manufactured by CAA and filtered through ESPN.”

Not a single person I’ve spoken to in the industry of college football, including agents(!), would allow Lane Kiffin to coach a SEC team in the playoff after accepting a job with a rival SEC team. This narrative has been manufactured by CAA and filtered through ESPN.

— Steven Godfrey (@38Godfrey) November 29, 2025

The criticism has been building as multiple ESPN personalities have defended Kiffin’s position.

Nick Saban set the tone last weekend by absolving Kiffin of responsibility, calling the situation a “college football conundrum” rather than a “Lane Kiffin conundrum.” During Friday’s Egg Bowl broadcast, Dave Pasch questioned whether Ole Miss AD Keith Carter pushing for a decision might send Kiffin “in another direction.” That night, Booger McFarland said on ABC it would be a “travesty” if Kiffin wasn’t allowed to coach through the playoff, putting the onus on Ole Miss to “do the right thing.” Then Saturday on College GameDay, Kirk Herbstreit doubled down, arguing Ole Miss needs to “set your emotions to the side” and let Kiffin finish what he started even if he leaves for a conference rival.

Kirk Herbstreit implores Ole Miss administrators to allow Lane Kiffin to coach the Rebels — if he leaves for LSU — and let him finish what he and his players started. pic.twitter.com/gwdrjDUv4F

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 29, 2025

Wojciechowski is technically correct that ESPN probably isn’t running editorial meetings where executives tell analysts to go easy on Sexton clients. But that’s not really what Farrell’s suggesting. The criticism is subtler — that the network’s reliance on access to Sexton’s stable of coaches creates conditions where certain narratives get amplified and certain people don’t face the kind of scrutiny they would otherwise.

And if you watched ESPN over the holiday weekend, the network tried to frame Kiffin’s situation as a player-first issue rather than what it actually is.

Wojciechowski says judge the argument on its merits. So let’s do that. Herbstreit wanted Ole Miss to ignore every competitive instinct and standard business practice because it would make for a better story and because “the players want it.” He wanted them to let Kiffin recruit their roster to Baton Rouge while supposedly leading them to a championship. He framed basic institutional self-preservation — not letting your departing coach actively undermine your program for a month — as emotions getting in the way of doing what’s right.

That argument doesn’t work. It doesn’t work because no business operates that way. It doesn’t work because the playoff format already creates enough chaos without adding a lame-duck coach serving two SEC masters. And it doesn’t work because framing this as a player-friendly position requires ignoring that players also benefit from coaching stability, from assistants focused on game-planning instead of job-hunting, and from a program that isn’t being actively strip-mined by its outgoing head coach.

Wojciechowski spent decades at ESPN and says the network never pressured him. That’s valuable testimony about his own experience. But it doesn’t address the actual point about access shaping coverage.

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