The Lane Kiffin–to–LSU Tigers saga had the college football fans in a chokehold. Finally, it ended. Sure, he locked in a seven-year, $91 million deal with the Tigers. But here’s the plot twist. LSU wasn’t even Kiffin’s top pick. An ESPN analyst just dropped a bombshell that left fans absolutely floored.

“Lane Kiffin wants the Alabama job,” said ESPN’s Clinton Yates on the December 4 episode of the Crimson Coverage podcast. “The reason why he waited until the Iron Bowl ended to make that call is that if Alabama had lost that game to Auburn, they probably would have fired their coach, too.”

On Sunday, November 30, after weeks of drama and guesswork, Kiffin finally said yes to LSU. He left behind an 11-1 Ole Miss squad sitting pretty at No. 6 in the CFP rankings. With this, Kiffin instantly elevated from 10th on the college football compensation list to No. 2, with an annual pay of $13 million.

But looks like the waiting game was never about the money. The one-month gap tells us where Yates came from. Brian Kelly lasted just four seasons in Baton Rouge before getting the boot on October 26, less than 24 hours after a rough 49-25 loss to Texas A&M in Tiger Stadium. From that moment on, Kiffin’s name shot straight to the top of LSU’s hot board.

So, for one month back at Ole Miss, Kiffin must have been testing the waters. Even though the Florida Gators also tried to woo him, it is now clear that his heart probably craved a Tuscaloosa ticket. That’s what the timing says, too. 

The Iron Bowl went down on November 29. With the Alabama Crimson Tide sealing a 27-20 win over the Auburn Tigers, they kept Kalen DeBoer’s seat safe. But it blew up Kiffin’s behind-the-scenes ambitions. By the next day, with the Alabama door slammed shut, the only play left was grabbing LSU’s fat check. Likewise, Todd McShay bought the hypothesis.

“His [Kiffin] circle knows that he’s going to LSU, the same people were telling me it will not be official until after that Alabama game,” said McShay on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “He and Saban have a bond and a mutual respect for one another, even though they drove each other crazy. That was the job he wanted.”

Kiffin rolled into Tuscaloosa as offensive coordinator in 2014 and immediately left fingerprints all over Alabama’s quarterback room. He groomed Jalen Hurts, the first freshman Nick Saban ever started at quarterback, into a 13-1 leader who delivered an SEC title and a trip to the National Championship. 

He also helped shape Jake Coker, who went a perfect 14-0 as Alabama’s starter and closed the season leading the nation with a 72.2% completion rate over his final 10 games. But Kiffin had a bitter ending in Tuscaloosa.

He was cut loose before the 2017 CFP title matchup for failing to live up to the Crimson Tide standard and being distracted by the Florida Atlantic Owls. The current hot theory is that Saban might’ve nudged him toward taking the LSU throne.

Saban might’ve nudged him toward taking the LSU throne. Steve Spurrier, too, had to comment on his move to LSU.

Steve Spurrier broke the silence on Lane Kiffin’s LSU Tigers move

With Florida also in the mix for Kiffin, Gators legend Spurrier called the move both bold and baffling. Spurrier questioned whether this was really an upgrade, noting that Kiffin had Ole Miss cruising toward a Playoff berth, one he now won’t get to finish.

“It looked like a lateral move for Lane Kiffin to go to LSU,” Spurrier said on the Another Dooley Noted Podcast. “It’s a lateral move. Why did he leave? But that’s his prerogative. It’s a done deal now.”

Kiffin, however, has tuned out the chatter and locked in. LSU’s 2025 roster ran about $18 million, per ex-coach Kelly. However, according to The Advocate’s Wilson Alexander, the school is preparing to invest a staggering $25–30 million annually in Kiffin’s roster through revenue sharing and NIL funds.

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The new head coach has already faced roadblocks. LSU entered Tuesday, December 2, with the No. 12 recruiting class in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite. That ranking would be higher than any class he signed at Ole Miss, which never finished higher than 16th.

Then, Baton Rouge got hit with a decommitment spree. LSU just took a triple hit: four-star wide receiver Kenny Darby, three-star offensive lineman Jalan Chapman, and three-star wide receiver Kervin Johnson all hit the eject button on their commitments.

If Lane Kiffin thought the recruiting drama was over, he was mistaken. LSU’s prized five-star tight end Mark Bowman stayed loyal to USC Trojans after a tense Signing Day delay. Clearly, Kiffin and the Tigers couldn’t seal the deal.

Now the question looms: will he regret leaving Ole Miss when his Alabama dream fizzles?