LSU hired Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss before last season was even over in the hope that he could help the Tigers win big football games.
In consecutive weeks, LSU has lost at home to Alabama and Texas.
In some ways, the case could be made that it doesn’t add up. But in other ways, this is who Kiffin is.
Saturday night’s clash was closer, but a Texas team that didn’t leave home until much later than planned on Friday found their groove just in time as Arch Manning led the Longhorns to victory.
Steve Sarkisian got the better of Kiffin, and now LSU faces more negative noise around their head coaching hire.
Lane Kiffin $91 Million Problem
The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel didn’t hold back in his column after Saturday’s action.
This is what he wrote about Kiffin:
LSU fans, on the other hand, must be wondering whether there’s an out clause in Kiffin’s $91 million contract. The Tigers have faced four current Top 25 teams (No. 3 Alabama, No. 6 Texas, No. 11 Kentucky and No. 19 Ole Miss) and lost to all four. (No. 8 Tennessee is next.) Not a great look for anyone, but especially someone who makes $13 million a year, routinely knifes his employers, struts into stadiums with a celebrity entourage, appears in TV commercials and had a near-$50 million roster to play with this season. His hand-picked portal QB, Sam Leavitt, got picked off three times by Texas’ Jelani McDonald (two of them in the end zone) and has 12 on the season.
Meanwhile, every time ABC showed Kiffin on the sideline, he looked nervous and in pain. A far cry from the cocky guy who used to throw his play sheet in the air when he knew he’d just called a touchdown. Like perhaps the pressure of trying to avoid a fourth loss of the season at a place that fires national championship coaches is getting to him. But this is what LSU signed up for — hot yoga, hot celebrities … and a 6-19 career record against top-10 foes.
Sheesh.
Kiffin probably warranted that, but it’s still quite the way to call out LSU’s coach for not being good enough when it matters.
Lane Kiffin Buyout Details
Kiffin’s buyout amount depends on his remaining salary at the time of his termination.
If he is fired without cause at any point, he’ll be owed 80% of his remaining salary, per ESPN.
This is the full scoop, via ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg:
If Kiffin is fired without cause during his seven-year term with LSU, he would be owed 80% of his remaining salary — an amount not subject to offset or mitigation, according to the term sheet. If Kiffin leaves LSU for another head coaching job, his buyout would begin at $7 million and drop to $6 million in January 2027.
LSU will pay Kiffin bonuses of $1 million for winning the SEC title game, and a CFP structure that begins at $750,000 for a first-round appearance and increases to $3 million for a national title victory. The school also will cover the difference — up to $500,000 — between the purchase price of his home in Mississippi ($2.89 million) and a new primary home in the Baton Rouge area.
So if he was fired at the end of this season, for example, Kiffin would be owed more than $62 million as the 80% of the $78 million remaining on the six years left on his deal.
That won’t happen, but there might be a few LSU fans who wish that it would.
LSU’s Lane Kiffin Raised as $91 Million Problem