Lane Kiffin Ripped for Lame Move at LSU’s Bowl Game After ESPN Booth Appearance

The high-profile saga of newly minted LSU coach Lane Kiffin is the gift that keeps on giving this winter.

Roughly a month after Kiffin announced he was leaving Ole Miss to take the LSU head coaching job, he made a public appearance on ESPN during LSU's game against Houston in the Texas Bowl.

Kiffin joined Tom Hart and Cole Cubelic in the booth at the start of the second quarter and fielded some questions about his transition from his former Rebels team to his new one in Baton Rouge. Kiffin said it was "awesome" to see Ole Miss crush Tulane 41-10 in the first round of the CFP, calling it "the biggest game in the history of the state of Mississippi."

He also seemed to be getting a head start at LSU by seeing his Tigers in action on Saturday—or so fans thought.

Shortly after Kiffin's ESPN appearance, he was seen walking out of the stadium and getting into a car to leave the game early. LSU ended up losing to Houston, 38-35.

Lane Kiffin left the Texas Bowl shortly after his appearance on ESPN and didn’t stay for LSU’s entire game pic.twitter.com/Zs4PERAdA1
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) December 28, 2025

Kiffin was asked during his ESPN guest appearance what he was keeping an eye on in the Texas Bowl, and his answer probably didn't inspire much confidence among the Tigers faithful.

"Yeah, I didn’t have as much time as you’d think [to watch the game]," Kiffin said. "I saw the opening kickoff... And then I get on the phone, because we had some people calling some agents. This is the world we live in now. It’s all day long."

Fans unsurprisingly blasted Kiffin for appearing on ESPN but not sticking around to watch LSU's bowl game in full:

Kiffin’s “just built different.”

Ya know, like a psychopath that doesn’t care about anything but himself. https://t.co/IYBkd1Nx5c
— Russ Latino (@RussLatino) December 28, 2025

This tracks in all the ways you would expect. https://t.co/OwyTGtm7Cc
— VitaminJSays (@VitaminJSays) December 28, 2025

Wait, I was told LSU football was a “blue blood” program and that no fan (much less the head football coach!) EVER, EVER left a game early!

What gives??? 🤷🏻‍♀️ https://t.co/OjERlRqox6
— Lee Ann Thigpen (@Leeleefix) December 28, 2025

Got his moment to make the night about him, took it, then rolled on out in typical Lane Kiffin fashion I see https://t.co/iPjPGACJuq
— Kyle Crook (@OutlawCrook6) December 28, 2025

Looks like that’s about to be a total waste of a police escort https://t.co/uk2RwpUGHt
— Mason Voth (@TheRealMasonV) December 28, 2025

Leaving a game early, already fitting in well with LSU fans https://t.co/OqRUcX3JB5
— Matthew Carden (@BamaWaldo) December 28, 2025

Rain Man abandoning his team before the job is finished……yet again. https://t.co/96IYoKnY9m
— The Loaf (@BlackmanHair) December 28, 2025

Fans also wouldn't let him forget the fact that he called out Ole Miss fans for leaving games early back in September 2024:

"I think it's really important for the players when you come back out of the tunnel for the second half or you go into the end zone and you look up and see the difference. I don't really understand it. Maybe I'm naive to it, but if a concert is going really well... do you leave? Like if the products really bad and come back out in the second half and the stadium's half empty—I understand when it's a bad product—but I really don't understand it," Kiffin said.

Not the best look for Kiffin as the calendar year comes to a close.