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LSU HC Lane Kiffin awkwardly cancels 'College GameDay' last minute, ripped by fans

The new Tigers head coach was supposed to appear on the show Saturday morning from the SEC Championship location in Atlanta, Georgia.
Matt Ryan|
Dec 1, 2025; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU new head coach Lane Kiffin speaks at South Stadium Club at Tiger Stadium.
Dec 1, 2025; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU new head coach Lane Kiffin speaks at South Stadium Club at Tiger Stadium. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Lane Kiffin has been extremely busy since agreeing to be the next LSU Tigers coach. As he’s putting together quite the recruiting class now that he made the move from the Ole Miss Rebels, Kiffin said late Friday night he won’t make it to Atlanta, Georgia, to be on College GameDay on Saturday morning.

It’s been a whirlwind week for the 50-year-old Kiffin as he announced his decision on Sunday and immediately took a private jet out of Mississippi to Louisiana. He then flew out his family where daughter Landry Kiffin and reconciled wife Layla Kiffin stunned in their bold fits.

Lane Kiffin and famil
Lane Kiffin with his family being introduced as the new coach of LSU football. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

From that moment on, it was all about putting together the new LSU class with his own special touch. He crushed by bolstering the defensive line with some serious talent that would make his dad and defensive guru Monte Kiffin proud.

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He then signed the No. 1 player in the country according to Rivals.com from Louisiana in athlete Lamar Brown just on Friday night. That’s when Kiffin announced he wasn’t heading to the SEC Championship and won’t be on the College GameDay show as was highly anticipated:

Lane would later add he was “sorry” for missing the show after it was announced defensive coordinator Blake Baker was staying with the team.

The Lane Kiffin show is less than a week old, but he’s already making a mark in Baton Rogue. Unfortunately, he won’t be there before the Georgia Bulldogs vs. Alabama Crimson Tide game on Saturday where he’d have likely had to answer some tough questions on the spot.

It would’ve also been nice to see him reunite with Nick Saban on the show, whom he was the offensive coordinator for at Alabama from 2014-2016, but who was the former LSU coach himself.

Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin
Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin | Butch Dill-Imagn Images

Fans rip Kiffin for ‘GameDay’ decision:

Following his announcement, social media had a field day with him “quitting” something else.

You can’t make up the soap opera that’s been Lane Kiffin and the LSU job these past couple of weeks.

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Matt Ryan
MATT RYAN

Matt Ryan is a dedicated sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in digital and linear media. After receiving a Masters in Journalism from USC, he’s worked for Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Yahoo Sports, USA Today Sports Media Group, and Bally Sports, while holding various leadership roles along the way.

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