$91 Million Head Coach Named Winner of College Football Offseason

College football’s coaching landscape has rarely been this volatile. Across the 2025–26 cycle, more than 30 FBS head-coaching changes occurred, including several in the Power Four.

Veteran coach Kyle Whittingham, after 21 seasons at Utah, took over the Wolverines on a five-year contract, bringing continuity while overhauling the staff in an effort to restore Michigan’s elite status.

Matt Campbell departed Iowa State for Penn State in early December, signing an eight-year deal as the Nittany Lions sought a new identity following the firing of longtime coach James Franklin.

At Oklahoma State, Eric Morris arrived from North Texas with an aggressive offensive philosophy and a significant transfer influx to reset the program after Mike Gundy’s firing. Meanwhile, Jon Sumrall, fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance at Tulane, agreed to lead Florida with expectations of revitalizing a historic brand.

And that’s only part of it — Stanford, UCLA, Virginia Tech, and numerous Group of Five programs also made leadership changes, creating one of the busiest coaching markets in recent memory.

Yet amid a carousel that has reshaped expectations across major conferences, one figure has dominated the national conversation: LSU’s Lane Kiffin, who agreed to a seven-year, $91 million deal to usher in a new era of Tigers football.

The latest twist? SEC insider Paul Finebaum declared Kiffin the clear winner of the offseason, pointing to his high-profile move and aggressive portal success as the defining development of the cycle.

“Lane Kiffin, how many times do I need to say that?” Finebaum said on Get Up. “He dominated the end of the season with his move, and then the CFP chaos, and then he brought in the portal. And you mentioned Leavitt; that was a major acquisition. He desperately had to have a quarterback, but he did so well in the portal. That could be a problem, though, he’s got so many new players on that team, but I think even with a difficult schedule, LSU is a CFP team.”

LSU president Wade Rousse, left, LSU new head coach Lane Kiffin and LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry. — 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. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

As Finebaum framed it, Kiffin’s aggressive offseason, highlighted by a top-ranked transfer portal class, according to 247Sports, immediately shifted expectations in Baton Rouge.

LSU added high-impact pieces across the roster, including Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt, Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, and former Ole Miss edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen, among others, ranked near the top of the national transfer board.

The combination of proven production and positional need has fueled projections that LSU could emerge as a legitimate CFP contender in 2026, a sharp recalibration for a program that fell short of championship expectations in Brian Kelly’s tenure.

With spring practice approaching, the focus now shifts to assimilation. Portal wins generate headlines, but how quickly Kiffin and his staff mold a roster heavy on new faces will determine whether this offseason splash translates into sustained success.

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