It's been six months since Lane Kiffin left his head coaching job at the Ole Miss Rebels in November, just before the College Football Playoffs. He had been criticized for leaving the Rebels at a crucial time. Now, holding the head coaching role in the LSU Tigers, Kiffin got a harsh verdict before his debut season in Baton Rouge.

The Saturday Blitz analyst, Nicolas Rome, came up with a version of college football coaches that no program should ever trust to run their team. While the list has ten head coaching candidates, Kiffin held the No.1 rank.

With a career record of 116-53, the wins are not the problem. Rome put it plainly: the endings always erase the good memories.

"Two things are certain when you hire Lane Kiffin, he'll bring a ton of buzz, and he'll leave in spectacular fashion creating a world of drama," wrote the analyst.

The resume tells the whole story. Kiffin's first head coaching stint came with the Oakland Raiders. Before that he has served as an assistant in Fresno State and Colorado State, followed by a stint in Jacksonville Jaguars.

Kiffin also spent a considerable amount of time with the USC Trojans. After the Raiders, he took up the head coaching role in Tennessee Volunteers which he left after one season.

Amidts his coaching journey, the former Alabama head coach, Nick Saban, dismissed Kiffin as Alabama's offensive coordinator in January 2017, just days before the Crimson Tide faced Clemson in the CFP National Championship. The reason was straightforward.

Kiffin had already accepted the head coaching job at Florida Atlantic and was spending time building his staff and recruiting for his new program instead of focusing on Alabama's playoff run. He was even late to a staff meeting in the lead-up to the game. Saban had seen enough.

The decision was taken by a head coach, who spent 17 seasons at Alabama, won six national championships, and walked away in January 2024.

Why Programs Keep Hiring Kiffin Despite Knowing How It Ends

Saturday Blitz ranked Kiffin the number one coach no program should ever trust, putting him ahead of Les Miles, Willie Taggart, and Brian Kelly. During his six-year stint with the Ole Miss Rebels football from 2020 through 2025, Lane Kiffin recorded a 55-19 mark overall.

Kiffin guided the Ole Miss Rebels football to some of the most successful seasons in program history, including six straight bowl appearances and four 10-win campaigns. He also became the first head coach in Ole Miss history to produce three consecutive 10-win seasons.

Meanwhile, after LSU took a 49–25 loss to No. 3 Texas A&M at home back in October, the Tigers parted ways with Kelly. LSU handed Kiffin a $91 million deal.

That puts him just below Georgia's Kirby Smart who is the highest-paid coaches in college football at the moment.

Kiffin will have to help recover the Tigers from a 7-6 season.

Can he make an immediate impact at LSU and overturn the perception created by the analyst’s ranking? Share your thoughts.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar