LSU Football's Top Head Coach Target Offered 'Blank Check' To Replace Brian Kelly

The LSU Tigers continue navigating a rigorous coaching search, top target reportedly offered "blank check" to take gig.

Nov 16, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly looks on before a game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

The LSU Tigers continue navigating a coaching search in Baton Rouge with the process ramping up following the firing of Brian Kelly on Oct. 26.

Following a 5-3 start to the season, including a humiliating 49-25 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies, the LSU administration pulled the plug on the "Kelly Era" and relieved him of his duties.

Across nearly four seasons as the shot-caller of the Bayou Bengals, Kelly compiled a 34-14 record with LSU unable to reach the College Football Playoff during his time in Louisiana.

Now, a head coaching search is on for the LSU Tigers with potential candidates being thrown in the mix left and right.

But there is one clearcut candidate at the top of the list: Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.

Oct 25, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin during the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt believes LSU is prepared to offer a blank check to the shot-caller that is receiving interest from the Tigers, Florida Gators, and other programs.

“There’s an old coaching adage out there that the quickest way to be defeated is to be distracted,” Klatt said. “I think that the biggest threat to Ole Miss down the stretch is distraction. And that distraction in the form of their future head coach.

"I don’t know where Lane Kiffin is going to end up. I know that Ole Miss is basically telling him, ‘Hey, it’s a blank check. You tell us what you need to stay here, and we will do it.’ I have that on good authority.

“I also have, on pretty good authority, that LSU is prepared to do the same thing for Lane Kiffin. They’ll basically tell him, ‘The keys are yours.’ Florida is a job that I think Lane would prefer over the other two, from what I’ve been told, and they are not quite in the same boat as Ole Miss and LSU in terms of ‘here, the sky is yours and name your price.’ There are more strings.”

For Kiffin, he's focused on leading the Ole Miss Rebels to the program's first College Football Playoff in school history amid a 9-1 start to the 2025 season.

Nov 8, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin looks on during a time out during the first quarter against The Citadel Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

“I haven’t even talked about it to them, and I think I’m pretty close to the players, where they walk by or they say something, you know, like, if it was on their mind, they’d make a joke or something,” Kiffin said. “I don’t think it is. They’re very focused on what to do.”

“Again, I said it’s a different age nowadays, like when I addressed it a couple weeks ago. I certainly don’t think it was a distraction since. We won at Oklahoma, South Carolina, and played really well last week. This is kind of the world that we’re in.”

More LSU News:

Elite LSU Football Commit Reaffirms Pledge Despite Ohio State, Ole Miss Pushing

Five Players LSU Football Must Keep After Brian Kelly's Firing, Including DJ Pickett

ESPN Insider Labels Lane Kiffin 'Top Target' for LSU Football, Florida Gators

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