Lane Kiffin’s arrival means a major cash splash for the Tigers, who have handed him a $90 million incentive-heavy deal. However, he isn’t the only head coach the program is paying right now. LSU is set to take on a substantial financial burden, as it still owes buyout money to both Brian Kelly and Ed Orgeron.

This means that on top of Lane Kiffin’s contract, plus an additional $25 million allocated for staff hiring, LSU will also be responsible for paying former head coaches Brian Kelly and Ed Orgeron a combined total exceeding $54 million. Kelly went through a whole saga related to his buyout. He was fired at the end of October after losing to Texas A&M. He was owed $54 million, and his contract included an offset and duty-to-mitigate clause.

That meant once he secured a new job, LSU would only be responsible for paying the difference between his new salary and the remaining amount owed in the buyout. LSU initially tried to lowball by offering a $25 million and $35 million lump sum offer rather than paying monthly in equal six-figure installments as stated in the original contract, which Kelly rejected.

That’s when the saga really began. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry harshly criticized the buyout, which led to athletic director Scott Woodward being replaced by Verge Ausberry. It also saw another shakeup in the administration with the hiring of Wade Rousse as the new president of the university. With these changes, LSU appeared to be intending not to pay the full buyout.

This did not sit well with Kelly, who hired law firm Skadden Arps to represent him and wanted to take the program into a legal buyout war. His lawyers then set a firm deadline for LSU to confirm that he had been fired without cause. However, during a call with his representatives on November 10th, LSU stated that it believed grounds for Kelly’s termination existed.

If Kelly had been fired for committing a crime or failing to report wrongdoing, he would not have been owed a buyout. However, Kelly insisted that he was fired without cause and filed a lawsuit. Two weeks later, Rousse sent a letter to Kelly’s lawyers agreeing to pay the remaining amount.

Before Kelly, there was Ed Ogreron, who coached LSU from 2016 to 2021. He was fired in October 2021, which meant LSU had to pay a sum of $16.8 million over the next four years. He still has a final buyout payment of $426,000 pending. That payment will be completed on December 15.

Who is Lane Kiffin bringing to LSU?

Lane Kiffin has finally made his decision, choosing LSU as his next destination. This comes on the heels of a historic 11-1 season with Ole Miss. Although he expressed a desire to coach the Rebels through the playoffs, the administration made it clear that he could not leave for LSU and still lead the team. What followed was far worse for the Rebels than simply losing their head coach.

Kiffin issued an ultimatum to his offensive staff, telling them to join him in Baton Rouge. As a result, Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., co-offensive coordinator Joe Cox, wide receivers coach George McDonald, head strength coach Nick Savage, and general manager Billy Glasscock are all departing Oxford.

Additional staff members leaving include senior associate athletic director for football operations Thaddeus Rivers, senior director of player personnel Mike Williams, and linebackers coach Chris Kiffin. With so many key figures following Kiffin to LSU, the Rebels are set to take a significant hit.

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