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. And 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 sideline. 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 is a developing story…)