Lane Kiffin may be the future of LSU football, but the present still belongs to the staff already in place.
LSU’s announcement of Kiffin as the Tigers’ new head coach sent shockwaves across not only the college football world but the entire nation, igniting excitement among fans eager for his fast-paced offense and dynamic personality.
Despite the high-profile hire, nothing changes inside the football operations building just yet. The current staff, from coordinations to position coaches, will continue running practices, managing game preparations and coaching the team through its upcoming bowl game.
It’s a transition plan LSU athletic administration expected from the start after the release of former head coach Brian Kelly. With the regular season complete and the coaching carousel spinning at full speed, schools often secure the next head coach early to get a jump on recruiting and roster retention. Still, continuity remains the priority for bowl season, and LSU is treating it no differently.
“Frank [Wilson] will continue to serve in that role, and I’ve made the decision he will stay as the head coach for the bowl game,” Kiffin said.
Players have been assured that the structure they’ve worked under with interim head coach Frank Wilson will remain firmly in place through the end of the season. Meetings look the same, practice scripts will look the same and the voices leading drills and making corrections are the same ones players have trusted since October. That consistency is crucial for maintaining focus at a time when uncertainty can easily disrupt preparation for whatever bowl game the Tigers will play in.
Kiffin will spend the next few weeks observing from a distance, focusing on evaluations, recruiting conversations and staff planning, which will be at the forefront of it all as he works through this transition. Until then, LSU’s locker room runs through the coaches who’ve led it all fall.
For the players, the message is simple: finish what they started. For LSU fans, the future under Kiffin is now undoubtedly compelling — but before the Tigers move into a new era, LSU will close this one out with the staff that carried the torch from August.
