Topline
Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin announced he would leave the school on Sunday, just before the College Football Playoff, after accepting the head coaching job at LSU—in what will likely be one of the richest deals in college football history.
Kiffin could soon be one of the highest paid coaches in college football.
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Key Facts
Sources told ESPN the seven-year contract comes with a $12 million salary, with potential for bonuses.
However, anonymous sources indicated to both Fox Sports and The Athletic that the deal could be worth even more, with Kiffin planning to sign a seven-year deal worth close to $100 million to coach the Tigers.
Either salary would make Kiffin one of the highest paid coaches in the NCAA—University of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart’s $13.3 million salary is currently the highest in college football.
Kiffin, who coached his first season for the Rebels in 2020, was already making a reported $9 million a year after Ole Miss extended his contract earlier this year, the Clarion Ledger reported in October.
Key Background
Kiffin, a college football veteran and former head coach at Florida Atlantic University, the University of Southern California and University of Tennessee, led Ole Miss to one of its most successful seasons in recent memory. The Rebels are 11-1 and ranked No. 6 on the most recent AP Top 25 poll. Kiffin’s record with the team is 55-19 over the past six seasons. Despite the success, rumors circulated for days that Kiffin would leave Ole Miss for LSU, one of the most high-profile programs in college football. LSU formally fired head coach Brian Kelly last week. Kelly was terminated without cause, meaning LSU will also be paying out the remainder of his $53 million contract while paying Kiffin’s salary. Kelly’s dismissal and his massive buyout spiraled into a political spectacle, with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry bashing then-LSU athletic director Scott Woodward over the contract and saying he would not be involved in the selection of the next head coach. Woodward was out as the LSU athletic director just days later. Verge Ausberry was then named the new athletic director.