LSU is set to offer Lane Kiffin a massive deal.
On Friday night, Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger reported the school is preparing a huge contract for the Ole Miss coach, worth at least $90 million that would at least put Kiffin in a tie as the highest-paid coach in the sport. The school is also promising “NIL-related roster investments exceeding $25 million.” That is a huge commitment.
Louisiana governor Jeff Landry has apparently signed off on the offer, less than a month after ripping the bloated contract then-athletic director gave to former coach Brian Kelly. School officials are confident in their chase, but a firm answer from Kiffin remains elusive:
The state’s top elected official has blessed the university’s lucrative pursuit of Kiffin, led by newly appointed athletic director Verge Ausberry. While there is brewing confidence in Baton Rouge that the latest push will lure the coach into a commitment, Florida administrators and top donors have felt similarly in a chase of the coach that dates back weeks.
Kiffin currently has Ole Miss 10–1 and sitting at No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings. He has been coy about his future when asked directly whether he’s staying in Oxford or moving on. Ole Miss has announced Kiffin will reveal his future intentions after next week’s rivalry game with Mississippi State.
Kiffin’s record as a head coach
Lane Kiffin was named coach of the Oakland Raiders on January 23, 2007, at the age of 31. He went 4–12 in his first season before being fired early in the 2008 campaign after a 1–3 start. A few months later, Tennessee hired him as its new football coach.
The Volunteers went 7–6 in Kiffin’s only season in Knoxville, as USC lured him away after just more than a year. Kiffin left Tennessee to take over as the Trojans’ head coach on January 12, 2010.
In four seasons with Kiffin at USC, the Trojans went 28–15 and 17–12 in the Pac-10/Pac-12. Led by Matt Barkley, the Trojans went 10–2 in 2011 and finished No. 6 in the AP Poll, but they were ineligible for the postseason as part of the fallout from the Reggie Bush scandal. That was the height of Kiffin’s time there. USC stumbled to a 7–6 record in 2012, then Kiffin was fired after a 3–2 start to the 2013 season.
After three seasons as Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Kiffin was hired as the head coach at Florida Atlantic on December 12, 2015. The Owls went 11–3 and won the Conference USA title in his first season. After a disappointing 5–7 campaign in 2018, FAU went 10–3 in 2019 and again won the Conference USA title. On December 6, 2019, Ole Miss announced it had hired Kiffin.
The 50-year-old coach is now in his sixth season coaching the Rebels. He has four 10-win seasons, three top 15 finishes, and a 54–19 overall record, while going 31–17 in the SEC. Ole Miss has won 10 games in each of the past three seasons and won the 2023 Peach Bowl.
In his 14 seasons as a college head coach, Kiffin boasts a 115–53 record and a winning percentage of .685.
LSU’s search for a new head coach
LSU named Brian Kelly its head coach on November 30, 2021. The Tigers hired him away from Notre Dame and handed him a 10-year, $95 million contract. Much was expected of Kelly as he took over the program. In less than four years, he was fired.
Kelly went 34–14 and 19–10 in the SEC over four seasons at LSU. After firing Kelly, the school owed him more than $53 million as a buyout, which it is now trying to avoid paying.
The search for Kelly’s replacement has been marred by instability, as athletic director Scott Woodward was sidelined from the search and then fired. Then the new university president, Wade Rousse, stumbled when naming Verge Ausberry the school’s next athletic director. Kelly has also turned down two settlement offers from LSU that would have made his buyout cheaper.
All the while, the Tigers are 6–4 and sit in 10th place in the SEC.
Whoever the next head coach is will walk into a job with an incredibly high ceiling, but will also have a mess to clean up.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LSU Reportedly Preparing Huge Offer for Lane Kiffin.
