Florida Gators Icon Calls Lane Kiffin's Decision to Join LSU Football a 'Lateral Move'

LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin has been in the spotlight across the last few weeks with his future becoming a major storyline across the college football landscape.

In a move that has since sent shockwaves across the sport, Kiffin elected to depart No. 6 Ole Miss (11-1, 7-1 SEC) amid a College Football Playoff run for the head coaching gig in Baton Rouge.

Kiffin's move immediately took social media by storm with national analysts blaming in the college football calendar for the "messy" exit along with questions surrounding his desire to depart Oxford.

But the decision is one that has clearly weighed on Kiffin across the last 48 hours since it was made official.

“Obviously, the last 48 hours, in a lot of ways, sucked. The only way I can describe it, (is that) it sucked for a lot of people. There was no way to possibly do it, in my opinion, any better than we did (from a) timing standpoint, because it’s a bad scheduling system of how it’s set up,” Kiffin said.

LSU Tigers Football. — Dec 1, 2025; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU president Wade Rousse, left, LSU new head coach Lane Kiffin and LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry stand together at South Stadium Club at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

“Eventually, hopefully it gets like the NFL where can’t do that in the season and don’t have to make those decisions. But in that, it was very important and very critical. Verge (Ausberry) and his team had a really, really good (NIL) plan, and even talked to some donors that are part of that plan here, to see exactly; How does that work? And there’s a great plan here.”

Now, Florida Gators icon Steve Spurrier, a head coach that Kiffin has idolized across his coaching career, has weighed in on the subject - calling it a "lateral move"

“Because it was a lateral move,” Steve Spurrier said on Another Dooley Noted Podcast. “That’s like the Tulane AD is not gonna tell Jon Sumrall you can’t coach in the Playoff because it really is a different situation.

"I think everybody realizes that. In fact, Billy Napier actually had a championship game, I think, after we hired him. It looked like a lateral move for Lane Kiffin to go to LSU.”

“It’s a lateral move,” Spurrier added. “And, why did he leave? But that’s his prerogative, and it’s a done deal now.”

Now, Kiffin has arrived in Baton Rouge as the new shot-caller of the LSU Tigers with all eyes on the new era under his watch.

More LSU News:

LSU Football Hires Elite Offensive Coordinator, Five Assistant to Lane Kiffin's Staff

Three Takeaways From Lane Kiffin's Introductory Press Conference With LSU Football

Lane Kiffin Reveals How Nick Saban, Pete Carroll Influenced Decision to LSU Football

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