Lane Kiffin became the 34th head coach of the LSU Tigers on November 30 after the firing of Brian Kelly. The Tigers fans are on cloud nine and believe Lane Kiffin did more in one week than Brian Kelly did in four years. The Louisiana State program went band for band compared from recruiting to the transfer portal.

“Honestly, the best thing that we can talk about is how good a start recruiting could have gone with Lane Kiffin, LSU insider Teddy Brennan said on Friday.

You got the number 11 high school class in the country with, you want to talk about efficiency. You want to talk about recruiting at a high level. Kiffin has been there and, what 72 hours, and he’s recruited better than Kelly didn’t four years.”

Within less than a week, Lane Kiffin is ranked No. 11 in the country with just 14 players. The quality of players screams year-three natty. This includes two five-stars, Lamar Brown and Richard Anderson. Additionally, they stacked eight four-star and three three-star ratings.

Make no mistake, Brian Kelly (or his team) has been recruiting Top 10 classes in the last two years. They were ranked in the Top 5 in 2023 and the Top 7 in 2024. All due respect to Brian Kelly’s recruiting, he never achieved the level of efficiency needed to attract numerous quality players in a short time.

The glossy rankings hide some issues behind the scenes. Staff members had concerns that Kelly wasn’t personally engaged enough in the recruiting process. Recruits and their families sometimes wondered why they didn’t hear from the head coach more often. There were a few embarrassing moments when Kelly reportedly failed to recognize players he had already met beforehand.

That lack of personal connection, along with a few top recruits backing out at the last minute, only proved that LSU’s recruiting looked good on paper but wasn’t running smoothly by the end.

“So now you know you’re just led to believe. What we’re going to do is starting January 2, because that’s the portal, because that’s when stuff’s going to get weird,” the host said.

Lane Kiffin is running laps over and on Brian Kelly. He’s called the portal king for a reason. For the 2025 season alone, he brought in a staggering 30 transfers at Ole Miss, securing the nation’s No. 4 transfer class.

This heavy reliance on the portal was a core philosophy that paid off big time, leading to an impressive four 10-win seasons and a 74.3% winning percentage in his final years there. We all know how Brian Kelly’s portal picks ended up.

With the transfer window opening next month, you can expect Lane Kiffin to build a real playoff-caliber roster as he did in his last two seasons at Ole Miss. It’s the kind of caliber Brian Kelly never managed to put together in four years.

Lane Kiffin’s expectations for 2026 decoded after Brian Kelly’s tenure

Since arriving in Baton Rouge, Kiffin has wasted no time at all. His first order of business was assembling his team. He brought a large chunk of his trusted offensive staff with him from Ole Miss.

This includes his offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis Jr. This probably means that he plans to run the same high-powered, successful system that worked so well for the Rebels in his six-year tenure.

However, the coaching change has also caused some instability. The Tigers have lost numerous commitments who have decided to attend other schools. Kiffin will use his portal expertise to fill any holes in the roster. He will bring in top talent from other schools, like he always does.

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Kiffin’s arrival at LSU immediately raises expectations. The school has provided him with substantial financial support for his staff and for NIL deals ($35 million for roster).

So, the pressure is on to turn the Tigers into national championship contenders right away.