Lane Kiffin Bolts Ole Miss for LSU After Weeks of Speculation

After six seasons in Oxford, Kiffin is leaving Ole Miss for an SEC rival.
In this story head coach Lane Kiffin is leaving to coach the LSU Tigers.
In this story head coach Lane Kiffin is leaving to coach the LSU Tigers. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Lane Kiffin has finally announced his future plans.

In a statement released after days of speculation, Kiffin finally made his move from Ole Miss to LSU official.

Kiffin was the Rebels’ head coach for six seasons. In that time, the team went55-19, finished in the top 15 three times, and had double-digit wins in four of his seasons. He also led Ole Miss to two New Years’ Six bowls, winning the Peach Bowl in 2023, and the Rebels likely will make their College Football Playoff debut this season with an 11-1 campaign.

While the school attempted to keep him in Oxford, Kiffin couldn’t pass up the resources LSU could offer. The Tigers have long been one of college football’s premier programs.

Cheap Rs-flyfishing Jordan Outlet Accessibility Statement likely will make their College Football Playoff debut this season. Over three full seasons plus eight games before his firing in 2025, Kelly went 34–14 as the Tigers’ head football coach. He became the first LSU coach to not win a national title in his tenure since Gerry DiNardo led the Tigers from 1995 to ‘99.

Lane Kiffin’s coaching history

After six seasons as an assistant coach at USC under Pete Carroll, Kiffin was hired as head coach of the then-Oakland Raiders in 2007 at 31 years old. He lasted less than two seasons. The Raiders went 4-12 in his first year, and after starting the 2008 campaign 1-3, Kiffin was fired. It didn’t take long for him to land on his feet.

Two months later, Tennessee hired Kiffin as its head coach, and he went 7-6 during the 2009 season. As his first year in Knoxville was wrapping up, Carroll left USC to take the Seahawks’ job, and Kiffin left to replace him in Los Angeles.

The Trojans went 8-5 in Kiffin’s first season, then reached their high point under him in 2011 when, led by quarterback Matt Barkley, they went 10-2 and finished No. 6 in the country. Due to the fallout from the Reggie Bush scandal, USC was not eligible for the postseason that year. Unfortunately, the Trojans never got back to that point. They went 7-6 in 2012, and after a 3-2 start to 2013, Kiffin was fired.

He rehabbed his image by spending three years as Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach under Nick Saban. He helped the Crimson Tide win the 2015 national title, and Florida Atlantic hired him as its next head coach on Dec. 12, 2016.

Kiffin was wildly successful at FAU. In his first season, the Owls went 11-3 and won the Conference USA championship. After a 5-7 campaign in 2018, Kiffin again led FAU to the top of Conference USA in 2019 with a 10-3 record. He was hired by Ole Miss before the team’s bowl game.

During his time at Ole Miss, Kiffin turned the Rebels into a national contender. After a 5-5 campaign in 2020, the program started humming and became one of the best in the SEC. Since that first season, Kiffin’s record at Ole Miss is50-14 and 28-12 in the SEC.

Overall, during his 14 seasons as a college head coach, Kiffin is 117-53 (.688). He’ll now be headed to Baton Rouge to see if he can turn around LSU’s program.


More College Football on Sports Illustrated

FREE NEWSLETTER. Cheap Rs-flyfishing Jordan Outlet BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with Cheap Rs-flyfishing Jordan Outlet:CYMI. dark

feed


Published
Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining Cheap Rs-flyfishing Jordan Outlet in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.