Coveted $63 million college football coach surges as favorite to be named LSU HC

As LSU continues to battle Brian Kelly over his buyout, the program is in the early stages of its search for the team's next head coach. Rumors link LSU to several top candidates, but the Tigers could have some competition for the program's No. 1 priority.

There appears to be some overlap between the potential candidates at Florida and LSU. Kalshi, a predictive odds market, has one coveted college football coach as the early favorite for both programs.

Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin is the LSU favorite with a 35 % chance to land the Tigers gig, per Kalshi. Earlier this month, Kiffin was hovering around 25% in the LSU odds.

Lane Kiffin asked how he would define what makes a head coaching job good 👀

"I wasn't ready for that one." 😂

He mentions rev share/collective figures, history, tradition, Heismans, and championships pic.twitter.com/bRIVh65ZZI
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) November 10, 2025

Tulane's Jon Sumrall is a distant second at 14% to remain in Louisana as the next LSU coach. For fans keeping hope alive that Nick Saban could end his retirement to rejoin LSU, the legend is listed at 10% in the odds. Kiffin has been listed as high as 53% in recent days to land the LSU job.

Let's dive into the latest college football rumors on Kiffin's future.

Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin is also a heavy favorite to be named the Florida coach

Kiffin has an even better chance to land the Florida gig at 55%, per Kalshi. James Madison's Bob Chesney is a distant second in the odds at 19%.

There is also a chance Kiffin turns down both LSU and Florida to remain at Ole Miss. The Rebels are firmly in the College Football Playoff picture with Ole Miss showing a willingness to be major players in the transfer portal.

LSU is expected to pursue Lane Kiffin but may have to wait

The potential hiring of Kiffin could be less than ideal for LSU. Ole Miss has the potential to be playing in January.

In a legal filing obtained by ESPN, Brian Kelly’s lawyers state that LSU is saying it never “formally terminated” Kelly and are now seeking to fire him “for cause” which could impact his near $54 million buyout.

Kelly is seeking a declaratory judgement that LSU did fire him and…
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) November 11, 2025

The college football transfer portal window opens on Jan. 2. Kiffin is unlikely to make a decision before the end of Ole Miss' season. If Ole Miss makes a deep College Football Playoff run, LSU would unlikely be a major player in the transfer portal if the program waits for Kiffin.

"For starters, expect LSU to go after, who has built Ole Miss into an annual College Football Playoff contender, and the Rebels appear on track to make their first postseason appearance," On3's Pete Nakos wrote on Oct. 28.

"The former Tennessee, USC and Oakland Raiders head coach has found his footing in Oxford, recruiting at a high level in the transfer portal and developing top high school talent."

Whoever lands Kiffin is expected to pay a premium. Kiffin is making $9 million annually on a deal where another year just got added to put the coach under contract at Ole Miss through 2031, per USA Today's Steve Berkowitz.

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