Big questions abound for LSU, Lane Kiffin’s present, future | LSU

It’s been nearly one year since Lane Kiffin became LSU’s football coach.

In some ways, it’s gone by in a flash. Especially in the context of this Saturday’s historic game against Texas being LSU’s last home game this season.

In some ways, it’s been quite long. From the leaving Ole Miss saga to all the legal hassles of trying to add Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to the roster (remember them?).

I think back to that late November night last year when Kiffin arrived, flying from the middle fingers and insults in Oxford to an adoring throng of LSU fans pressing against the fence at Baton Rouge Metro Airport. Specifically, I remember the young man who shouted out “We’re never losing again!” as Kiffin’s motorcade zoomed out the gate.

That was fantasy. The reality is a long, difficult season in the Southeastern Conference, a season that finds LSU 6-3 overall and clinging to thinning hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff.

So many thoughts about where Kiffin and LSU are right now, I thought it best to break them down piece by piece:

Is the Kiffin era already a failure?

It is far, far too early to draw any conclusions, good or bad. You can have your opinions and I have mine, but LSU can still get in the CFP this season if it finishes 9-3. ESPN’s playoff predictor in fact says the Tigers have a 79% chance to make the playoff if they sweep Texas, Tennessee and Arkansas.

Can LSU close the season 3-0 is the real question. A season where the Tigers have roughed up the six teams they outclassed lost to the three best teams they’ve faced (Ole Miss, Kentucky and Alabama) doesn’t inspire a lick of confidence. Especially since Texas and Tennessee are at least on par with those three best teams, generally speaking. But Kiffin deserves more time to prove himself and his methods.

Is it fair to have expected LSU to challenge for a CFP title his first year?

NIL and the transfer portal have certainly broken the old rules that said a coach had to get at least two or three recruiting classes in before you could expect title contention. Indiana, of all teams, making the CFP in year one under Curt Cignetti and UCLA being 9-0 under first-year coach Bob Chesney says it can be done. It has certainly reset the bar for a school with LSU’s resources and tradition.

That said, the flip side of this new era is there are no guarantees. Certainly not when you flip as much of the roster as Kiffin had to, bringing in over 60 transfers and freshmen. That’s a lot to make work in a short time.

In some ways, it’s been great. Players like Dilin Jones, Jackson Harris, Princewill Umanmielen and Ty Benefield have been huge additions. Sam Leavitt has been a mixed bag. Sean Thompkins, who got to fill in for an injured Weston Davis at right tackle against Bama, and wide receiver Jayce Brown haven’t contributed much.

Yes, LSU spent a sizable fortune on this roster, like the total revenue of Walt Disney World on a holiday weekend day sizable. But money is no guarantee. If it were, the New York Mets wouldn’t have finished last in the National League East with baseball’s second-priciest roster.

What about all the celebrities coming down Victory Hill?

The part of me that despises the vulgar chants and vulgar T-shirts in Tiger Stadium was quick to side with the folks who think Kiffin parading Victory Hill with the likes of Kevin Costner and Shaquille O’Neal and Angel Reese needs to go, along with the sideline basketball goal and fire extinguisher.

It’s not a good look when you lose. But that’s all it is. A look. A perception. I sincerely doubt Kiffin missed any practice time last week to take a call from Costner’s people.

I read a critique of Kiffin that said he wants all the attention on himself. That he has a huge ego. That doesn’t make him much different from every football coach I’ve ever covered. Kiffin wants to combine Hollywood glitz with Nick Saban accountability. It sounds like a tough mix, but when he led Ole Miss to an 11-1 regular season in 2025, no one complained.

If Kiffin and LSU miss the CFP, they will get the ridicule. The scorn. The withering criticism. The only cure for that is winning. Saban had coaches and players on full blast his entire career. No one criticized him for being inhumane because he was a winner. It is the same for Kiffin as he marches down Victory Hill to the beat of his own drummer — a famous drummer like Ringo Starr, perhaps.

What could the future hold for Kiffin and LSU?

There was pressure on Kiffin to lead LSU to the CFP this year. If they don’t make it, the pressure ratchets up enormously next season, especially since the CFP expands to 24 teams. Kiffin and other coaches got what they wanted: a bigger playoff means more job security, though so do expectations.

Perhaps a more pertinent question is if the Tigers wind up in the Gator Bowl is will LSU boosters still be bought in? Kiffin has said repeatedly LSU’s rosters will be better going forward. That takes money. A favorite quote from “The Right Stuff” certainly applies; “No bucks, no Buck Rogers.

Perhaps Shaq or Costner can write a check.