Lane Kiffin must be trying hard to keep the cool-guy facade while the rumor mill goes berserk. But the side stories are running the show. Even though the Ole Miss boss hasn’t officially packed his bags for Baton Rouge, LSU officials are already envisioning one of the Tigers’ ex-coaches as Kiffin’s right-hand man. All this just days after the former coach basically slid in with a desperate pitch.

On November 20, Preston Guy shared his take on Matt Zenitz’s report. “I have talked with sources close with Orgeron. I can verify, Orgeron would be very open to this opportunity if offered – and that national interview he did saying as much was far from just saying the right things to not rock the boat. He would absolutely be open to returning as the DL coach.”

Looks like the interest is mutual here. As Zenitz reported, “If/when Lane Kiffin is hired as LSU’s head coach, LSU is open to former Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron being part of Kiffin’s staff, sources tell @CBSSports.”

From 2016 to 2021, Ed Orgeron was the big boss in Baton Rouge. He delivered LSU’s iconic undefeated title season in 2019. But when the follow-up years didn’t hit the same, he and the Tigers went their separate ways. Since then, he has been off the sidelines. Though lately, he’s made it clear he’s itching for a comeback.

On the October 28th episode of ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike podcast, Orgeron shared, “Oh. I would love to. You kidding me? I’m one call away.” The desperation looked real when he said, “I just gotta get my truck, I’ll be back. I could be there today.” But why does Orgeron’s comeback seem tied at the hip to Kiffin landing the LSU throne?

This isn’t a surface-level connection. Kiffin and Orgeron’s bond runs deep. When Orgeron was running recruiting for Pete Carroll at USC, Carroll asked him whether to hire a proven coach or take a swing on a hungry up-and-comer. Orgeron vouched for Kiffin, who was then just a year removed from being a graduate assistant at Colorado State and working as a quality control assistant with the Jaguars. 

Over the next few seasons, Kiffin and Orgeron turned into a powerful recruiting duo. They reeled in blue-chips like Reggie Bush and helped USC snag two natties. Later, Orgeron hopped on Kiffin’s staff at Tennessee and again at USC, the two of them evolving into master recruiters while learning shoulder-to-shoulder.

Now, how close is Orgeron to fulfilling his wish? Looks like LSU is planning something big for Kiffin.

Insiders claim LSU can push the Lane Kiffin offer to $15 million

Wilson Alexander of The Advocate reported that LSU is assembling “a very large financial package” designed to make Kiffin one of the highest-paid coaches in college football. “I think that they would make him… maybe over $13 million [annually], something like that,” the analyst said. According to the reports, J.D. Pickell chimed in with his expert take.

To him, even a blank-check offer won’t drag Kiffin to LSU unless one key factor comes into play. “If you want to roll with Lane Kiffin as your guy, you give him complete oversight of the portal, roster, NIL, whatever he needs. He’s proven he can allow you to win football games,” said Pickell. Squashing the $13 million figure, Garland Gillen dropped a new update.

“You watch the videos and say, ‘LSU, they don’t have the money to spend.’ No, they can get, they can go up, okay? They can go to $15 million a year. That’s with incentives.”

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Amidst the big offer talks, Kiffin’s daughter, Landry, went viral for her latest move. It isn’t only Lane Kiffin catching heat; the entire Kiffin crew has been under scrutiny ever since their private jet arrived in Baton Rouge. His daughter’s appearance at the Women’s Booster Club sent the Lane-to-LSU noise into overdrive.

With a hefty paycheck and a chance to team up with Ed Orgeron again, the storyline just keeps getting spicier.