LSU is making huge mistake battling Brian Kelly if they want Lane Kiffin

It's no surprise it has gotten ugly between LSU and Brian Kelly.

But if the goal was to replace the never-accepted LSU Tigers former head coach after his firing, this is a terrible way to go about it by trying to get out of the $54 million buyout completely, especially if the goal is to land a big-time name like Lane Kiffin.

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

The Ole Miss Rebels troll king is the belle of the ball for blue-blood programs' coaching vacancies, especially at SEC powerhouses LSU and Florida, who are both hoping to return to glory.

So while Louisiana governor Jeff Landry has gained headlines that college football coaches' salaries are ridiculously out of whack, which is very true in many ways, if the goal is to get the 50-year-old Kiffin, the Tigers might have already sealed their fate.

Super-agent Jimmy Sexton is probably not happy with LSU's behavior

Lane Kiffin, Nick Saban — Oct. 2, 2021; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin talks with Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban before the start of an NCAA college football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. | Butch Dill-Imagn Images

While Sexton doesn't represent Kelly, the college football super-agent Jimmy Sexton does represent Kiffin, along with Georgia’s Kirby Smart, currently the highest paid college football coach, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, Florida State’s Mike Norvell, Oregon’s Dan Lanning, and James Franklin, who of course was fired by Penn State.

Franklin's buyout is a little more murky than Kelly's, and Sexton might fully regret not having it so clear cut. He'll probably never make that mistake again, and if LSU is going to be petty with Kelly, why would he ever advise Kiffin to take a chance with Landry (the governor, not Lane's daughter), making it so political?

Lane Kiffin, Landry Kiffin — Sept. 27, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin poses for a photo with his daughter Landry Kiffin prior to the game against the LSU Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

We'll probably never see the disastrous Texas A&M $77 million Jimbo Fisher buyout ever again, which is fully guaranteed to be paid out in annual installments of $7.2 million through 2031 after an initial $19.2 million settlement, but if the terms were $54 million for Kelly, why should he settle?

Sexton is probably thinking the same thing.

Per ESPN:

LSU seeking to fire Brian Kelly for “cause” thus voiding the payment of over $50 million dollars is pathetic!

You made the deal, you should honor it. Chasing down some scheme to back out is an act of cowardice. You fired him because of his under performance now you… pic.twitter.com/bnX3vnqIxP
— Society of Golf Historians (@SHistorians) November 11, 2025

Kiffin needs to go where he's fully embraced

Knox Kiffin, Lane Kiffin — Oxford quarterback Knox Kiffin (13) talks with his dad and Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin on the sidelines during a high school football game between Murrah and Oxford at Hughes Field in Jackson, Miss., on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kiffin, the troll king of college football coaches, is not a wallflower.

Now we'd love the constant headlines of Kiffin vs. the governor of Louisiana, but it would be a toxic environment for Kiffin especially, given that he's fully reinvented himself after crashing and burning as the HC prodigy with the Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Volunteers, and USC Trojans, where on that last stop, he was infamously got fired on the LAX tarmac.

Lane Kiffin, Layla Kiffin — Jul 29, 2010; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans coach Lane Kiffin (left) and wife Layla Kiffin (right) at the Fox Sports Pac-10 Conference Hollywood Premiere Night at the 20th Century Fox studios. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Still only 50, Kiffin can wait for the perfect situation, and as I declared yesterday, my bet is that he stays at Ole Miss for at least two more seasons because of his reconciled wife Layla, daughter Landry, who is a junior at Ole Miss, and Knox, who is an aspiring SEC quarterback as a sophomore at Oxford High School.

The Saban factor

Nick Saban was the first one to take a chance on Kiffin when he was at his lowest. And as we mentioned earlier, they share the same agent.

Heck, even Saban's wife, Terry, joked on "College GameDay" that Kiffin should take the Penn State job when her husband's name was brought up.

Saban won his first national championship at LSU, so there is obviously a connection, and Kiffin talked about the inherent advantages of blue bloods yesterday, which certainly raised eyebrows. Not to mention his potential future son-in-law, Landry's boyfriend, LSU star linebacker Whit Weeks, is there.

Landry Kiffin and Whit Weeks — Whit Weeks and Landry Kiffin | Landry Kiffin/Instagram

But the natural connection for Kiffin would be Alabama, where he was the offensive coordinator under Saban, not LSU.

So while the troll king can be as petty as anyone, when it comes to trying to screw Kelly, LSU might be alienating Kiffin to the point of no return.

— Enjoy free dish of rich and fabulous players with The Athlete Lifestyle on SI —

Awkward first: New ‘First Take’ host Shae Cornette addresses Molly Qerim’s exit

First Lady winner: Sarkisian’s wife Loreal wears daring gold denim fit for Texas game

Tearjerker: Alex Vesia’s wife gets note from Dodgers WAG after devastating baby’s death

Zag WAG: Ohtani’s wife Mamiko has unique fit defying Dodgers WAGs for World Series

Tigers whimper: Lane Kiffin’s daughter Landry reveals LSU fit looking sad in ugly loss