What a saga this year's coaching carousel has turned into. As the LSU Tigers have clawed their way through the rest of the season, they have also been on the hunt for Brian Kelly's replacement.
Over the last few weeks, current Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin has stormed to the front of the race, but the path to bringing him to Baton Rouge has been far from simple.
Between Florida also entering the chat and Kiffin possibly just staying at Ole Miss, the process has been anything but drama-free. However, last night, as Kiffin and the Rebels' Athletic Director, Keith Carter, met with the school's Chancellor, LSU reportedly took the next step to landing Kiffin.
LSU on the 1-yard-line for Kiffin Deal
Following a lengthy meeting at the Chancellor's home in Oxford, MS, anyone with even minimal interest in college football was sitting on pins and needles, waiting to hear what Kiffin had decided.
Then one hour passed, then another, and eventually it was approaching midnight, and there was still no word from Kiffin or Carter. However, reports had come out of Baton Rouge that the Tigers were finalizing their deal to hire Kiffin as the next LSU football head coach.
Not to mention, Ross Delenger, Adam Schefter, and Pete Thamel were reporting that the Tigers were sending planes to Oxford on Sunday morning to bring Kiffin, his family, and others to Baton Rouge, seemingly kicking off his tenure at LSU.
Expectation is that LSU will hire Lane Kiffin on Sunday, per ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Pete Thamel.https://t.co/M1xrCCGAmQ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 30, 2025
Then, reports were coming out that Kiffin was demanding to finish the year with the Rebels, a team that virtually cemented its place in the College Football Playoffs with the win over Mississippi State in rivalry week.
Lane Kiffin is “essentially demanding to finish the season (w/Ole Miss) while simultaneously threatening to poach” Ole Miss’ roster & staff if he can’t, source told @On3sports. “It’s unfortunately gotten even messier than expected as emotions are high” https://t.co/gBcvHKk3Ps
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 30, 2025
While the Tigers might be as close as possible to signing Kiffin, without actually signing him, it also looks like the drama is far from over as the Rebels try to decide what to do with the rest of their season and their current head coach.
Marty Smith (yes, the man who was camped out at the Ole Miss football facilities for hours on end on Saturday night) reported that Kiffin planned to hold a team meeting at 9 a.m. CT ahead of announcing his final decision.
EDIT
On Sunday morning, Smith told Thamel that Kiffin and the Rebels had moved the meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. to a later time that same day.