LSU landed its white whale in Lane Kiffin. Grading the Tigers' hire

LSU landed its white whale in Lane Kiffin. Grading the Tigers' hireStory byBlake Toppmeyer, USA TODAYSun, November 30, 2025 at 11:21 PM UTC·2 min read

It's finally official: Lane Kiffin is leaving Ole Miss football to be the LSU coach.

Leaving the Rebels while they're in the College Football Playoff will ruffle some feathers, but that hasn't bothered Kiffin before.

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CFB coaches on the move: Carousel in overdrive, keep up with hirings, firings

CFB coaching carousel: Grades for each hire, how they fit

Here's our grade, from the Tigers' perspective of the hire:

Virginia Tech hired James Franklin as its next head coach. Franklin was fired earlier this season at Penn State. He replaces Brent Pry, who was fired midseason by the Hokies.Oklahoma State hired Eric Morris from North Texas to be the Cowboys next head coach. Morris replaces longtime OSU coach Mike Gundy, who was fired earlier this season.Colorado State hired Jim Mora Jr. as its new head coach. Mora led UConn to back-to-back nine-win seasons and replaces Jay Norvell, who was fired midseason.Oregon State hired Alabama co-offensive coordinator JaMarcus Shephard as its head coach, replacing Trent Bray who was fired after an 0-7 start this season.1 / 4

These college football coaches are on the move. See who found new home

Virginia Tech hired James Franklin as its next head coach. Franklin was fired earlier this season at Penn State. He replaces Brent Pry, who was fired midseason by the Hokies.1 / 4

These college football coaches are on the move. See who found new home

Virginia Tech hired James Franklin as its next head coach. Franklin was fired earlier this season at Penn State. He replaces Brent Pry, who was fired midseason by the Hokies.2 / 4

These college football coaches are on the move. See who found new home

Oklahoma State hired Eric Morris from North Texas to be the Cowboys next head coach. Morris replaces longtime OSU coach Mike Gundy, who was fired earlier this season.3 / 4

These college football coaches are on the move. See who found new home

Colorado State hired Jim Mora Jr. as its new head coach. Mora led UConn to back-to-back nine-win seasons and replaces Jay Norvell, who was fired midseason.4 / 4

These college football coaches are on the move. See who found new home

Oregon State hired Alabama co-offensive coordinator JaMarcus Shephard as its head coach, replacing Trent Bray who was fired after an 0-7 start this season.

Grade: A

If you’d formed a list of who LSU should pursue after it fired Brian Kelly, it might have looked like this:

1. Lane Kiffin

2. Revert to option 1 and get it done.

LSU landed the white whale. The Tigers secured the hire they should have made last time this job was open. Kiffin turning heel on Mississippi before the College Football Playoff is a bad look for the sport and the coaching industry, but that’s not LSU’s problem at this moment.

Kiffin torched his Ole Miss legacy on the way out the door, but the record books will say he was the program’s best coach since Johnny Vaught retired in 1973 after a tenure that peaked in the late 1950s and early ‘60s.

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Kiffin is the nation’s best coach to never appear in a CFP game. Considering the coaches who have been to the playoffs aren’t leaving their jobs, he’s the top pony of this carousel.

Kiffin’s mastery on offense will be a boon for LSU, after the Tigers spent the season spinning their tires. He’ll upgrade the quarterback production. Just consider what he did with Division II transfer Trinidad Chambliss. Simply sublime. That came after Jaxson Dart and Matt Corral thrived under Kiffin at Ole Miss. He’s close to a guarantee for quality quarterback production, and if you have a quarterback, you have a chance.

LSU played the transfer game in its final season under Kelly, but nobody plays portal roulette better than the Portal King himself. Kiffin will upgrade this roster, and LSU will give him the funds to do it. Bet on that.

Can Kiffin meet LSU’s demands for a national championship? That’s an unanswered question. Kiffin went 0-4 against Nick Saban and he’s 1-2 against Kirby Smart.

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Also, how well will he recruit in Louisiana? Also unanswered.

Kiffin’s career never looked better than it did when he had an SEC underdog punching above its historical weight. Now, he’s rolling with the big boys again. That hasn’t brought out his best in the past, but that doesn’t mean LSU and Kiffin won’t pair well.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lane Kiffin to LSU football: Grading the Tigers' hire

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