BATON ROUGE, La. – Lane Kiffin was introduced as LSUThe team's coach vowed Monday to rebuild it as “the best program in all of college football” while detailing what he said was a gut-wrenching decision to leave. Ole Miss.
Kiffin's arrival ends a months-long saga in which he was the target of coaching searches by Florida and LSU while Ole Miss tried to retain him. He leaves Oxford in the midst of a historic season in which the Rebels are 11-1 and ranked No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Kiffin said “the last 48 hours have sucked in a lot of ways,” adding that he understands the passion of the angry Ole Miss fans who were at the airport when he took off. He said he told Ole Miss administrators Saturday night that he was taking the job at LSU and continued the conversation into Sunday, trying to figure out how he could continue to coach the Rebels in what he called “the most historic sporting event in Mississippi history, a home playoff game.”
“In my opinion, there was no way to do it better than we did in terms of timing,” Kiffin said.
Ultimately, Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter decided that Kiffin would not coach the Rebels, a decision Kiffin said he respected. He said Carter told him that while it might make sense for everyone outside the program to maintain the team's roster through the playoffs, Carter would have to live in Oxford after Kiffin left.
LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry called Kiffin “a big enough personality to operate in a state of big personalities” and said LSU has no problem with Kiffin continuing to coach at Ole Miss. But according to Ausberry, college football, like the NFL, has no rules that prevent schools from contacting coaches before the season ends.
“It’s not our fault,” Ausberry said. “It was a hand we had to deal with and we had to deal with it, and I had to protect LSU's interests. “I have good friends at all the other institutions in the SEC, but it’s about doing what’s right for LSU.”
So Kiffin immediately left Oxford for Baton Rouge. He arrived, drove past Tiger Stadium, a place where he coached many times, with the lights on and said he felt “the power of this place.”
“I called one person. I called Ed Orgeron,” Kiffin said of his longtime friend and colleague, who won a national title as LSU's coach in 2019. “I said, 'Hey man, everything I can do… this place just makes me want to talk like you right now.'
Kiffin's first 24 hours included a phone call with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who took center stage in LSU's coaching situation, leading to the departure of former athletic director Scott Woodward. Kiffin said with a smile that the call was “unique” and added, “I felt his passion and energy in that call for Louisiana State and for LSU football.”
Kiffin has a 117-53 record in 14 years as a college head coach in Tennessee, USC, Florida Atlantic and Ole Miss, including seven seasons with at least 10 wins. He was also part of five of the most memorable exits in football history: Al Davis detailed his shortcomings Raiders projector coach in Oakland, leaves after a year in Tennessee for a job at USC, and then gets fired from USC at the airport in Los Angeles, after which Nick Saban fired him a week before the national championship game in Alabamaand now leaves Ole Miss for Baton Rouge ahead of the playoffs.
He said he was unmoved by the reaction from fans, which he said included some who tried to run him off the road while he was driving with his son Knox, adding that such is life in the SEC.
“I think people get really upset when you go somewhere because they feel bad because you’re really good at your job,” Kiffin said. “They're not going to the airport and driving from all over to say things like that, shout things like that and try to run you off the road if you're misbehaving.”
Kiffin paid tribute to three of his mentors, whom he considered among the greatest defensive minds in football: his father, Monte Kiffin, Pete Carroll and Saban. Kiffin credited Carroll, who he said promised his late father would look out for Lane, for inspiring him to take the LSU job. Kiffin hinted that Saban pushed him too.
“Coach Saban coached elsewhere in this conference, so I can’t say exactly what he said,” Kiffin said to laughter from the crowd about the former Alabama coach. “But I will say that I think about Coach Saban’s world and respect him. And that’s why we’re here.”
Kiffin said his first priority was completing the Tigers' recruiting class, with the early signing period running from Wednesday through Friday. Kiffin said Frank Wilson will continue to serve as interim head coach for LSU's upcoming game, but did not provide further clarity on personnel positions.
On Sunday, Kiffin signed a seven-year contract with LSU that will pay him $13 million annually, including a provision that gives him the same CFP bonus structure from LSU that he would have received at Ole Miss, including $150,000 for appearing in a CFP first-round game, up to $250,000 for reaching the quarterfinals and another $1 million if he wins the national championship.
He said Monday that he doesn't know the terms of his contract, adding that he never asks his agent Jimmy Sexton about it. Kiffin said he's more concerned about the financial resources to build the program, including zero for players. He said the plan he heard from LSU proved it was the best job in football.
“When you consider the history, tradition, passion and great players of the state of Louisiana, no one can argue that when you are in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, there is nothing like it,” Kiffin said. “This place is built for championships with championship expectations – we understand that – but as an elite athlete, that's what you want and that's why we're here.”
