After firing head coach Brian Kelly, the LSU Tigers have been on search for a new head coach and believe they may have found one in current Ole Miss head coach, Lane Kiffin.
Going into the 2025 CFB season, ESPN had the Tigers sitting high and pretty, projecting them to be ranked 8th in the pre-season top 25 AP-Poll. Starting the season, LSU went 4-0 in the first 4 weeks, beating notable teams such as the Clemson Tigers, and the Florida Gators. Going into week 5, LSU was living up to the hype, as they were ranked 4th in the country at the time; but as we all know it, all good things must come to an end.
Starting in week 5, LSU would go onto to lose 4 out of their next 5 games, losing to highly ranked teams like Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, and the Alabama Crimson Tide, while beating an insanely weak South Carolina team 20-10.
The Tigers struggled tremendously to get their offense clicking in those 4 losses, only being able to pass for 197 yards, and a measly 57 rushing yards against Ole Miss, and would go on to lose the game 24-19. Then the next week against Vanderbilt, LSU made it into the red zone on multiple occasions throughout the game, but had to settle for 3 field goals, which came back to bite them at the end of the game, as they would end up losing by one possession, 31-24. And it did not get any better for the Tigers from there, for they would end up losing big time to Texas A&M, 49-25, then Alabama, 20-9.
LSU had a bounce back game the next week against the Arkansas Razorbacks, where they would just barely squeeze by with a 23-22 victory. They then went on to win their next game in week 13 against Western Kentucky. Now, this was a game the Tigers were supposed to run away with, but their offense, once again, struggled endlessly to finish the job in the red zone, settling for what seemed like countless field goals to earn a sloppy, 13-10 victory.
For what has turned out to be a very disappointing season for a team that was supposed to win it all this year, the LSU Tigers have decided to try and make some changes around their coaching staff; firing who is now the former head coach for LSU, Brian Kelly, and have since then offered current Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, a 7 year, $90 million deal that includes an average annual salary of $13 million, and at least $25 million for NIL roster investments.
The Tigers believe that with their already stout defense and outstanding special teams unit, that Kiffin will bring just what they need to the table in order to achieve a high powered offense. Kiffin has had multiple coaching stints with several teams over the last 30 years, being assistant coach for the Frenso State Bulldogs in 1997-98, offensive coordinator for the USC Trojans in 2005, later becoming the head coach for the Trojans from 2010-2013, while finishing all seasons as a Trojan with a winning record. His time as the Trojans OC was by far his best, as he helped guide USC to a 23-3 record with a 88.5 winning percentage and even reaching No.6 in the to 25 AP-Poll for the 2005 season. Kiffin also had a short run with the Oakland Raiders from 2007-2008 before coming back to college football to coach the Tennessee Volunteers for one season in 2009, finishing with yet another winning record.
Kiffin took over the Ole Miss Rebels in 2020 and hasn’t looked back since with winning seasons every year since the start of the 2021 season and even achieving 4- 10+ win seasons. The Ole Miss offense has never looked better than it has in these last 4-5 years, scoring almost at will in every single game, while constantly being top 10 in several offensive stats.
Ole Miss is going to have to do a lot if they plan to keep Kiffin for their future, because although Ole Miss is a powerhouse team in the SEC now, LSU has the potential to be even better, not to mention the amazing recruiting that happens at LSU. Kiffin would have no trouble whatsoever in turning LSU from a mediocre football team, into a high level championship contender in just a single season there as head coach. Kiffin has stated that he will announce his decision on whether he is staying at Ole Miss or leaving for LSU after the Egg Bowl.
