Jordan Rodgers Believes It's National Championship Or Bust for a Major College Football Coach

The LSU Tigers proved last season that they are not happy with just being respectable in the SEC. They want to be a contender.

Brian Kelly Couldn't Take LSU From Good to Great

That's why the program decided to fire head coach Brian Kelly. He had done a decent job since taking over the Tigers. He took over LSU after two straight seasons of .500 or below records. In his first year, he led the Tigers to a 10-4 season.

He followed that up with a 10-3 and a 9-4 year. The issue was that LSU was good, but couldn't quite make the jump into a College Football Playoff contender. So, after a 5-3 start in 2025, LSU parted ways with Kelly.

The team elected to hire Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin after a sensational six-year run in Oxford. Kiffin went 55-19 in those six seasons. That includes winning double-digit games in four of the last five years. His best year came in 2025, leading Ole Miss to an 11-1 record and its first berth in the College Football Playoff.

Jordan Rodgers Believes Lane Kiffin Faces Championship Expectations Immediately

Now that Kiffin has taken over in Baton Rouge, the question is what kind of pressure he will be facing in Year 1. On ESPN's "First Take," college football analyst Jordan Rodgers said he feels that, despite it being Year 1, it's championship or bust for Kiffin.

LSU Tigers president Wade Rousse, left, and new head coach Lane Kiffin greet each other. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Lane Kiffin has a lot to prove... they not only have to get to the College Football Playoff next year," Rodgers said. "Step one, they've got to get to a national championship because they have to be better than his team at Ole Miss was last year with less resources. He's been gifted everything he wants at LSU. It's time to pay that back."

LSU Should Give Kiffin Time Despite the Pressure to Win Now

Rodgers brings up some good points about Kiffin leaving Ole Miss despite leading the team to the College Football Playoff because he felt he didn't have enough resources to be a true contender. But it took Kiffin six years to build Ole Miss into a contender.

While the Rebels had other double-digit-win seasons, they never made the College Football Playoff before 2025. So, that should at least give Kiffin one season to turn it around.

Kiffin was hired at LSU because the program believes it has the resources and potential to compete for championships. The expectations are higher than they were at Ole Miss, and the Tigers should expect to be in the playoff conversation immediately.

However, expecting a national championship in Year 1 ignores the process it took Kiffin to build Ole Miss into a contender. LSU should demand improvement and compete at a high level, but giving Kiffin time to build his vision could be what ultimately gets the Tigers back to the top of college football.

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