Could Lane Kiffin be interested in leaving Ole Miss already? I guess that depends on who you ask.
The offensive-minded head coach, who has Ole Miss ranked No. 10 in the nation midway through his second season with the Rebels, always seems to find a way into the SEC football headlines. He has done so again in regards to the LSU football head coaching search.
LSU is in the midst of a nation-wide coaching search to replace Ed Orgeron, who has agreed to part ways with the Tigers at the conclusion of the 2021 football season.
Many names have circled the rumor mill for one of college football’s very best job, including Kiffin’s. And it seems like that may be for a good reason.
In the latest episode of the Chris Landry Football Podcast, indications were given that Kiffin would not only accept the LSU coaching job if offered, but that his representation may be actively lobbying for a chance at the job.
Landry, who is a former college football and NFL scout, coach and administrator, runs LandryFootball.com.
Chris Landry Says He’s Been Asked to Put in a “Good Word” for Lane Kiffin at LSU
Landry says he has been an active participant in helping the LSU administration evaluate potential candidates for their soon-to-be vacant football coaching position.
While discussing Kiffin’s potential interest in the LSU job, Landry unveiled some inside information that could confirm he would like to come to Baton Rouge if the opportunity presented itself.
“People have asked me ‘How do you know that Lane Kiffin is interested in the job?’,” Landry said. “Because I’ve been asked to really put in a good word for him there. My role is not to put in good words for people. It’s to give an honest assessment of what I think would be the best way to go about it for both the (coaching) candidate and in this case the university involved.”
Landry Indicates That Lane Kiffin Would Accept the LSU Job If Offered, But the Tigers May Not Be Interested
So beyond the idea that someone involved in the Kiffin camp has asked Landry to put in a good word with the LSU administration, Landry also indicated that his sources make him confident that Kiffin would accept the Tigers coaching job if offered.
“Lane Kiffin would absolutely take the LSU job,” Landry said. “There’s not a 1% chance he’d turn it down.”
Of course, it takes two to tango in these coaching searches. And right now Landry doesn’t get the sense that LSU athletics director Scott Woodward has much interest in hiring Kiffin.
“The issue is right now he’s not one of the main persons of interest in this job from an LSU standpoint,” Landry said. “But things can change and things can evolve. So we’ll see where that takes it. But there’s no chance that he’d pass up this opportunity.”
This maybe confusing for some who see Kiffin in the Top 10 with Ole Miss in just his second season with the Rebels, but Landry claims that there is a cap to the upside of the Ole Miss job that simply doesn’t exist at LSU.
And while that may be true, it’s worth noting that potentially landing uber QB prospect Arch Manning as a legacy player in an upcoming recruiting class could totally reshape the way we view the next 5 or 6 year outlook for the Rebels football program.
Our Take on This Report
Chris Landry has some undeniable industry credentials and seems to have an insight into the day-to-day workings of this LSU coaching search, so there is no reason to believe that his comments on Kiffin are inaccurate.
However, I think the important part of his reporting to consider at this point is that LSU doesn’t have Kiffin atop their wish list at this time.
Kiffin can send overtures through back channels all he wants, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be the next Tigers head coach. And, furthermore, the idea that he could be doing this might actually turn the Tigers off from the coach who has a track record of leaving jobs (Tennessee to USC, for example) before “finishing the job” he was hired to do.
SEC Y'ALL 