LSU Lures Lane Kiffin With Major Contract Weeks After Governor Decries Predecessor’s Deal

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry didn’t mince words last month when LSU fired football coach Brian Kelly. Landry said he was “tired of rewarding failure in this country,” indicated he would not allow athletics director Scott Woodward to choose the next coach and vowed that he would “let Donald Trump select” Kelly’s replacement before Woodward. He also called the deal Kelly signed in 2021 “a terrible contract,” one that called for Kelly to receive $54 million when he was dismissed.

On Sunday, five weeks after ousting Kelly, LSU hired Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. While the school did not disclose contract details, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Kiffin will make about $12 million annually over seven years and have the opportunity to earn more through performance bonuses.

LSU brought aboard Kiffin just four days after formally terminating Kelly without cause, ending a saga that began with Landry’s comments and even before then when fans and others questioned why the Tigers would structure such a large payout if Kelly was fired. Kelly signed a 10-year deal worth $95 million when he was hired from Notre Dame in 2021. The Kelly deal cost Woodward his job, too, as LSU fired him on Oct. 30.

Even as Landry questioned the sanity of Kelly’s contract, LSU ended up paying even more per year for Kiffin. And although Kiffin’s contract has not been disclosed, his agents at CAA no doubt negotiated a clause guaranteeing that he would receive a substantial payout if he gets fired before his deal expires.

Kiffin, in the past few weeks, has had the ultimate leverage. Southeastern Conference rivals LSU and Florida pursued him for their openings, while Ole Miss wanted to keep him and vowed to match any offer.

Still, Kiffin chose LSU, which is an understandable decision considering the Tigers have a rich tradition, passionate fans, wealthy donors and fertile recruiting area. But he was nonetheless criticized for how the situation played out.

Kiffin wanted to continue coaching Ole Miss even after he told his bosses he would be leaving for LSU. The Rebels are 11-1 and No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings, making them a lock to get selected for the 12-team CFP. However, Ole Miss doesn’t play again until the CFP first round on Dec. 19 or 20, so athletics director Keith Carter understandably didn’t want Kiffin leading the Rebels in the playoffs while waiting to start his job at LSU, which will not be in the postseason.

Instead of Kiffin, Ole Miss will be coached in the CFP and next season by Pete Golding, who was promoted on Sunday. Golding, 41, has never before been a head coach, but he was Alabama’s defensive coordinator from 2019 through 2022 and Ole Miss’s defensive coordinator the past three seasons, a stretch during which the Rebels went 11-2, 11-3 and now 11-1. Ole Miss was in the mix for a CFP spot last year when the Rebels started 8-2 and rose to No. 9 in the rankings. But after losing to Florida, Ole Miss fell to No. 14 and out of the playoffs.

This season, the Rebels have only lost once, falling 43-35 at Georgia on Oct. 18. They all but clinched a CFP berth Friday with a 38-19 victory over rival Mississippi State. Kiffin was scheduled to announce his coaching decision Saturday.

At 3:03 pm Eastern Time Sunday, Kiffin wrote on X that he accepted the LSU job but that Carter denied his request to continue coaching throughout the CFP. Thirty four minutes later, Ole Miss announced Golding as Kiffin’s replacement.

Several of Ole Miss’s staff members are expected to join Kiffin at LSU, while others will remain with Golding as he guides the Rebels in their first playoff appearance. Ole Miss is likely to play its first round game at home, as seeds five through eight host games.

Kiffin, meanwhile, will be watching the game somewhere, furious he couldn’t remain with Ole Miss but confident he can accomplish even more in his new job. While Kelly never made the CFP in three-plus seasons at LSU, he did go 34-14 and win three bowl games. The three previous LSU coaches — Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron — each won a national title. As such, Kiffin almost certainly thinks he can do the same.

Kiffin departs Ole Miss having won 74.3% of his games, just behind John Vaught (74.5%) in school history. The Rebels named their stadium after Vaught, who coached the team from 1947 through 1970 and again in 1973. Kiffin won’t be getting the same recognition. Instead, the way he departed didn’t sit well with the school or its fans.

Next season, LSU will travel to Ole Miss for a game that will be among the most anticipated of 2026. The teams have played each other 107 times since 1894, and no matchup may be more heated than next year’s game. The home crowd will no doubt greet Kiffin with scorn. For now, though, the Rebels still have the CFP to look forward to even as Kiffin becomes a pariah in Mississippi and looks ahead to chasing victories and titles at a rival program.