Michael Faulds understands Lane Kiffin comparison with ‘gut-wrenching’ decision to leave Wilfrid Laurier for Western

Michael Faulds made what he called a “gut-wrenching” decision to leave Wilfrid Laurier after 13 years as head coach for the same role with Western University.

“What makes it worse, nowadays in the world of social media, it had to be kept so quiet. It couldn’t get out there that I was even applying and went through that process. I didn’t want my family to have to go through that, I didn’t want the Laurier players or even the Western players to have to go through that,” Faulds told 3DownNation.

“It’s unfortunate it had to be kept so quiet and everyone abruptly at 3 p.m. (on Monday) got shocked by it. I had to do what was best for my family, and that’s what allows me to sleep at night.”

The Mustangs offered one key item the Golden Hawks could not: sentimental value. Faulds played quarterback for the program and he met his wife, Stacey, at her hometown school while on campus in London, Ont. It was the classic movie stereotype: star QB dates cheerleader. The relationship blossomed into a marriage and two children, 11-year-old Chloe and nine-year-old Lucas.

“You bring your stakeholders into it, which for me is my wife and my kids. I had to ask the kids, are you willing to move? People think you’re a football coach, you’re making the decision — it was a family decision. We did everything from pros and cons,” Faulds said.

“I want people to know it was a super tough decision. I’m gutted for the people that I’ve left at Laurier and those relationships — I love them dearly, both the coaches and players. But at the same time, I hope it’s OK to be equally as excited to be back at a place where I had blood, sweat, and tears where I ran out of this tunnel.”

The 42-year-old has taken over Greg Marshall’s head coach office, which is located on the second floor at Alumni Stadium. It’s the same room in which he used to sit with Marshall and his predecessor, Larry Haylor, to study film and put together game plans when he was a Western quarterback from 2005 to 2009. The Eden Mills, Ont. native won two Yates Cups with the Mustangs in 2007 and 2008 and remains the program’s all-time leader with 10,811 passing yards.

Courtesy: Western Mustangs.

“There’s something special about those five years. I’ve said that in recruiting, whether I was recruiting at York, recruiting at Laurier, and what I’m about to do here — those years, young men when they’re in their university years really help shape you. Usually your best friends in life are the guys you play university sports with because you’re surrounded by like-minded people that are going through the same adversity, pain, struggles, and exciting moments,” Faulds said.

“I can’t say one single negative thing about Laurier, I absolutely love that chapter in my life. It was time for Michael Faulds and his family to start the next chapter. That’s tough for some people to hear, but I think a 13-year chapter is long, I think a 13-year chapter is good. It’s OK that wasn’t a 30-year chapter. We can still positively look at that 13-year chapter and me and my family are starting a new one.”

Prior to officially being announced as the head coach at Western, Faulds poured his heart out in an email to Golden Hawks players and coaches. He agreed with the two schools to keep the process quiet. While sitting in Marshall’s truck on Monday, his sisters were texting him asking, “Why didn’t you tell us at Christmas?” Family members outside his wife and children did not even know his decision had been made.

“Would I have loved to call a team meeting the first day back of the new semester and get the Laurier football coaches and players there? Yes, 100 percent. But then we would have had the theatrics of Lane Kiffin where Ole Miss called a team meeting at two o’clock,” Faulds explained. 

“I would have loved to do it in person, I said that in the email, but I hope our players and coaches at Laurier recognize coach Faulds’ own sisters didn’t know ahead of time. He was in an awkward position nowadays with social media that we wanted the institutions, both Laurier and Western, to be able to collaborate and break the news together.”

Faulds understands comparisons being made to Kiffin leaving the University of Mississippi to become the head coach at Louisiana State University — rival schools in the same conference. Ole Miss as a team was better than LSU in 2025, similar to Laurier being better than Western last year. In fact, the Golden Hawks handed the Mustangs the worst loss in Marshall’s era, 60-13 during the OUA’s final regular season week. That also gave WLU three-straight decisive wins over Western on the football field.

“I think the great difference is Lane Kiffin wasn’t the quarterback for LSU, Lane Kiffin’s wife’s family isn’t from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Michael Faulds played five years for the Western Mustangs, Stacey Faulds was a Western Mustang, and our family is here. The comparison ends with the theatrics of program to program and being head coach to head coach,” Faulds said. 

“It’s an easy comparison because it’s very recent. It’s the only thing you can think of because there haven’t really been any other OUA head football coaches that have gone to become an OUA head football coach at another institution without a gap. There really hasn’t been an example of this, I don’t blame people for making that comparison.”

It won’t be to Southeastern Conference levels, but when Faulds returns to Wilfrid Laurier as head coach with Western during the 2026 OUA regular season the reception will be less than welcoming. That rivalry between the two schools will gain even more intensity and most likely build over the coming years.

“There’s similarities to the Lane Kiffin thing, you’re getting a pay raise, the money’s going to be different, but I don’t think that’s the reason Faulds is leaving. Ultimately, it’s his alma mater. There’s family things that help encouraged this decision. Both places are great programs and have been great programs for a while,” Taylor Elgersma said.

“I ultimately do think that Laurier is in a better spot than Western right now and is going to stay at the top of the OUA. Both programs are great, both programs are historically great. There’s a lot that goes into this decision than purely money, purely program situation or any of that, but I think that all those things come into impact.”

Last January, Faulds signed a five-year contract extension with the Golden Hawks. One year later, he’s inked a five-year deal with the Mustangs. There’s no buyout or guaranteed money owed — the bench boss simply left his agreement with Laurier and signed a new one with Western.

“My plan is to be here until I don’t want to coach football anymore. That was also part of the decision, I will admit. How many more years am I going to coach? I looked at coach Marshall put in 18 amazing years at this institution. I told myself, ‘I just turned 42, if I put in 18, I’m already 60,'” Faulds said.

“It’s not like I’m making a coaching change at 60. This is the place that my family and I decided I wanted to be. It is a five-year contract, but I’m not looking for it to end in five years.”

The Mustangs likely provided a pay raise. According to the most recent sunshine list from 2024, Faulds earned $138,431 with the Golden Hawks and Marshall collected $226,963 that same year. If it was even needed along with the other factors, increased compensation can help tip any decision one way towards a different shade of purple.