By BRETT MARTEL
Lane Kiffin left his one-loss Mississippi staff to turn out to be the coach at LSU on Sunday, taking on a program that has received nationwide titles underneath three of its earlier 4 coaches whereas saying he would have stayed to educate the Rebels within the postseason had he been allowed to.
The transfer comes two days after No. 6 Mississippi’s victory over Mississippi State within the annual Egg Bowl rivalry sport that every one however assured the Rebels a playoff berth when the bracket is introduced Dec. 7.
Kiffin wrote in a social media put up that Mississippi athletic director Keith Carter denied his request to guide the staff by means of the playoff “despite the team also asking him to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance.”
“Unfortunately, that means Friday’s Egg Bowl was my last game coaching the Rebels,” he added.
Mississippi promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to succeed Kiffin. A former school participant at Delta State in Mississippi, Golding is in his third season on the Rebels’ workers after serving 5 years as a prime defensive assistant at Alabama.
“Coach Kiffin and I met yesterday, and he informed us that he is accepting the head coaching position at another school,” Carter mentioned. “For our program to begin preparing for its future – both the short and long term, he will be stepping away from the team immediately.”
LSU trumpeted its new rent, with athletic director Verge Ausberry calling Kiffin the most effective coach within the nation.
“Lane is a proven winner who has thrived in an era of college athletics that requires coaches to adapt and innovate,” he mentioned. “His passion, creativity and authenticity make him the ideal leader to guide LSU into the future and consistently position us among the sport’s elite.”
Kiffin’s determination performed out for days, contributing to an already-busy hiring cycle that noticed a number of strikes earlier Sunday, together with three within the SEC alone. Whereas gamers have transferred away from playoff-bound groups, a coach leaving a staff that’s 11-1 and all however sure to make the playoff is one thing new.
Kiffin and Carter had agreed final week {that a} determination needed to be made this weekend as negotiations dragged on. Carter couldn’t afford to attend till after important recruiting intervals in December and switch intervals in January had handed earlier than beginning his teaching search. The CFP begins on Dec. 19, the semifinals don’t happen till Jan. 8-9 and the ultimate is Jan. 19.
Kiffin is taken into account one of many prime offensive coaches in school soccer. He went 55-19 in six seasons at Mississippi, success that made him a goal of a number of main packages in search of new coaches. Kiffin additionally was pursued by Florida, which fired coach Billy Napier every week earlier than LSU reduce ties with Brian Kelly.
The lure of LSU
Whereas LSU supplied Kiffin a elevate over his present $9 million annual wage, the choice presumably was about greater than cash.
LSU has a championship model in a number of sports activities; state-of-the-art amenities; a rabid, regional fan following; and a legendary, historic dwelling soccer venue in Tiger Stadium (nicknamed Demise Valley), which towers over the banks of the Mississippi River and holds 102,000 spectators — 38,000 greater than Mississippi’s Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The lone soccer coach of LSU’s previous 4 who didn’t win a nationwide championship was Kelly. He was fired in late October throughout his fourth season, a seismic growth that additionally led then-athletic director Scott Woodward to resign underneath strain from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.
Ausberry — a Louisiana native, former Tigers soccer participant and longtime LSU administrator — led a seek for a brand new coach that targeted totally on Kiffin. LSU supplied Kiffin a seven-year contract with a mean annual wage of round $13 million and pledged to make sure the soccer program has ample monetary backing to pay gamers.
Kiffin has overseen one of the vital profitable stints in Mississippi historical past, arguably exceeded by solely Johnny Vaught, whose 25 seasons at Mississippi included a six-year interval from 1957 by means of 1962 throughout which his groups went a mixed 57-6.
LSU is 247-84 with three nationwide championships for the reason that 2000 season, which was Nick Saban’s first with the Tigers. Saban received his nationwide title at LSU within the 2003 season and went 48-16 in 5 years earlier than leaving to educate within the NFL with the Miami Dolphins. Les Miles, employed in 2005, went 114-34 with a nationwide title in 2007. Ed Orgeron, who succeeded Miles in the course of the 2016 season, went 51-20, highlighted by his 15-0, national-title-winning marketing campaign in 2019. Kelly, who was within the midst of a 10-year contract price about $100 million at LSU, went 34-14 with the Tigers.
Kiffin’s rise
Kiffin, son of the late NFL and school defensive coach Monte Kiffin, performed quarterback in school at Fresno State. He received his first head-coaching job at any degree within the NFL with the Oakland Raiders in 2007, however was fired simply 4 video games into his second season.
He took his first school head-coaching job at Tennessee in 2009 and left after one season to take over at Southern California, the place he was fired 5 video games into his fourth season. He returned to teaching in 2017 with Florida Atlantic, spending three seasons there earlier than Mississippi lured him to Oxford in 2020.
Kiffin has mentioned he adopted the mantra of striving to “do things better than they’ve ever been done before” from one among his mentors, Pete Carroll, underneath whom Kiffin served as an assistant at USC from 2001 to 2006.
“I am incredibly honored to have the opportunity to lead the storied LSU football program,” Kiffin mentioned. “From national championships to iconic players, LSU is synonymous with excellence and is among the most powerful brands in all of sports.”
No coach has ever received a number of nationwide championships at LSU. Kiffin would be the subsequent to strive.
