The room was filled to the brim with excitement. Rows of chairs, cameras and pictures were plastered all over the walls and even the stadium.
On Monday, history was made when LSU introduced Lane Kiffin as its new head coach.
Kiffin agreed to a seven-year, $91 million contract with the Tigers after spending six years with rival Ole Miss. It was a departure that left one fanbase in disarray right before the College Football Playoffs, while another program now has a new glimmer of hope.
It’s understandable for both sides.
Kiffin was able to bring a boatload of success to a program that has not seen it in years. Before he came to Oxford, the last 10-win season the Rebels had was in 2015. With Kiffin, he was able to have four 10-win seasons.
His run at Ole Miss stands undoubtedly as the best tenure of his career, which is why he was the prized possession of the coaching carousel.
“Immediately, Lane Kiffin became our prime target,” Athletic Director Verge Ausberry said during Monday’s press conference. “He was not only an offensive innovator, energizer and winner, he is also a program builder, a brilliant recruiter, in the most competitive conference in America, and a big enough personality to operate in a state of big personalities.”
When a big-time coach is brought in at a prominent program like LSU, the expectations are instantly to not only win, but win championships.
One way Kiffin’s been able to be successful in recent years that has led his team to a potential playoff berth this year has been the dynamic offense he’s produced. As Ausberry said, he’s an offensive innovator. Kiffin has faced a lot of criticism throughout his career, but the one thing you can’t take away from him is his ability to run an offense.
“I think that we have the most unique offense in the country, and because of learning from so many people along the way,” Kiffin said. “It’s been a great offensive run because of that, and I’m not going to get up here and talk about individual numbers and stuff like that, but if you research them, since we left Alabama, if you take points and yardage, that’s the No. 1 offense combined in all of college football.”
To give some numbers from this season, the Rebels rank No. 3 in the nation in yards per game (498.1) and No.11 in points per game (37.3). Those numbers almost sound foreign compared to the LSU offense this year, which ranked No. 108 in yards (332.7) and No. 106 in points (21.8).
The Tigers had multiple games this year where, if they could generate more offensive success, they could’ve come out on top due to the complement of a shutdown defense.
LSU scored over 30 points once this season, and that was during the 56-10 victory over Southeastern Louisiana.
It’s been a complete 180 for the Tigers’ offense, which has had success and talent across the board in recent years. Former quarterback Jayden Daniels won the Heisman Trophy and was drafted No. 2 overall. His top two targets in wide receivers, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr, were also selected in the first round, with Nabers even being a finalist for the best wide receiver award in the Bilitenkoff.
Even when that talented trio left the following year, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier ranked No. 4 in passing yards (4,052) and tied No. 10 in touchdowns (29).
Since then, it’s been hard to watch, and with an offensive mastermind coming to Baton Rouge, the expectation for Kiffin and his staff is to do the same in the purple and gold.
However, it’s not as simple as just bringing your scheme to a team and automatically seeing it click together. You have to have the players to do so.
One of the main reasons for Kiffin’s decision to take the job at LSU was because of the importance of and support he was going to get from NIL.
“Obviously, nowadays it’s the world of college football, and it’s very important and critical to them, which it should be,” Kiffin said. “This was the best setup, so that definitely played a factor into it because, I don’t care what your systems are, without good players, they don’t work.”
A mindset like that is why LSU fans are smiling from ear to ear. He already has a plan for LSU, and it’s not rocket science: bring in the top talent.
“Our immediate priorities are assembling the best staff in the country and securing top talent,” Kiffin said. “The mission is simple: bring the best players in the country to LSU. It starts right here in the state of Louisiana to win big.
