Lane Kiffin is the talk of the college football world right now.
The longtime college football head coach made headlines in the midst of the Ole Miss Rebels' season when he bolted for LSU as they were about to make a College Football Playoff appearance. Kiffin became one of the highest-paid coaches in college football when he inked a seven-year, $91 million deal ($13 million annually) to take over the Tigers program.
Kiffin also made headlines as of late after LSU welcomed in Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris after both were cut from NFL rosters. The SEC subsequently instituted a ban preventing those types of moves from happening just hours later.
The Tigers enter with high expectations, despite a 7-6 season last year. They'll enter the year ranked No. 11 in the polls and they have the largest budget in college football at over $40 million.
With former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt now in the fold as the Tigers' starting quarterback, LSU will have aspirations for a national championship in Kiffin's first season.
The 51-year-old head coach took the time to sit down for a one-on-one interview to talk about the Tigers' 2026 season, Leavitt stepping in as the starting quarterback and his new acting role in the Dr. Pepper Fansville commercials.
Why did Lane Kiffin choose LSU?
Q: Obviously, you've been around for a long time. You've coached some big time programs: Tennessee, USC, Ole Miss. What interested you so much in LSU? What appealed to you with this program in Baton Rouge?
Kiffin: “I think being on the other sideline five times, and you know all the great players that played here, and coming into that stadium, and the intensity and the passion of the fans, and the size of the stadium, over time I had just thought a lot about it.
Being down in this conference, what would it be like to be at LSU and to coach at LSU and be able to recruit the players that LSU can recruit, especially in the great state of Louisiana.”
Q: For you, Lane, obviously you've been around for a long time, but you've got a long way to go. You're still a young guy. I think you're 51 years old. What are some remaining career objectives for you?
Kiffin: “I don't really look long-term like that. I just really try to see we be the best that we are today, and then have an amazing season and give these kids - we want to do everything we can to give you the best players, give you the best team, and that's my job to the fans and to the state, which is so passionate for that and so wanting that.”
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Kiffin on Clemson and Dabo Swinney
Q: You have a big-time season opener against Clemson and Dabo Swinney. What is the key in that game to making sure that you guys come out well?
Kiffin: “Not to get too caught up in the environment, got to play really good football, limit turnovers, play really disciplined, don't get penalties. Don't play with too much emotion because there's going to be a lot. The place is going to be electric. There's been so much buildup for eight months now for this game and to see this team play.”
Q: Do you feel you're going to have a little bit of nerves? I know you've been around for a long time, but will you have some nerves heading into that game?
Kiffin: “I'll be alright. I'm worried about our players a lot more. It's a privilege to be the coach here, and it's just really exciting to be part of a season that can have this much attention on it, and LSU football and in Fansville at the same time.”
Q: Obviously, Dabo Swinney, coaching legend over there. You guys have both been around for a long time. Do you have any sort of relationship, friendship?
Kiffin: “Yeah, I'm a big fan of Dabo. I think he's been amazing for college football. He's been so remarkable in an era that's really hard to keep it going and to coach that long. I've spent some time with him even this summer. We were down in the same place in Boca Grande, and we played his sons in pickleball too.
We need to make sure we win this game like we beat them in pickleball. Me and my partner Sawyer, we beat them in a series, so we have that over them. We said next time we'll see (each other) it'll be in Tiger Stadium.”
Q: And you're hoping obviously to get this big win over Dabo and Clemson over here in the season opener, obviously.
Kiffin: “Yeah, what a great way to start the season with such a big matchup against such a historic program and coach.”
What makes Leavitt the perfect QB for LSU
Q: I want to ask you about your quarterback, Sam Leavitt: he had a big-time freshman year over at Arizona State and led them to the College Football Playoff. What makes him the perfect quarterback for this program?
Kiffin: “He's had great intensity about how he's gone about this, wanting to chase greatness, and that's really what I talk about. Really what I try to do in life is relentless pursuit of chasing greatness, and that's part of sometimes moving jobs that aren't popular decisions for everybody. But Sam's done that, and so I'm really excited to see him play.”
Q: Obviously, you know him better than anybody. You see him in practice every day. What is his best trait that he brings to the table?
Kiffin: “Leadership by example. The way that he prepares, the way that he plays, how serious he takes it, how much of a priority it is. It's great for the other kids to see.”
Q: When you think of him and you think of quarterbacks, whether that's past or present, is there a quarterback that you can think of that you can compare him to, as far as similar skill sets, leadership styles?
Kiffin: “There's a lot of movement similar to Bo Nix. He was making some plays on the run the other day, and I said, "Man, he kind of looks like Bo right there.’"
Q: Is there a quarterback that he's brought up to you? Maybe that he idolizes or that he's resembled his game after.
Kiffin: “No, he hasn't. He very much comes to work and is focused on work, and so not a lot of comparisons to others. I think in his mind, I think he's so focused on being the best one that there is.”
NIL: “When money comes around, you get quicker changes”
Q: You've seen the changes in college football over the years. What is the biggest challenge of remaining a big-time successful program and remaining a great head coach in this NIL era?
Kiffin: “Oh, it's a challenge. I feel like it's much more like the NFL now. You're seeing quicker coaching firings than there used to be. Much more like NFL. I think anytime money comes around, that's what happens. And so now you have NIL, you have players having money, you have donors giving money, and expectations of what should happen. And a lot of times, when that happens, when money comes around, you get quicker changes.
That's what happens in the NFL. Now you're seeing that in college. I think you got to be really consistent all the time and all year-round in all these different areas in order to stay at the top.”
Q: Would you say probably the pressure is at its greatest at this point in time in college football as a head coach, with a $40 million budget for LSU? Do you feel that pressure? You know the expectations that come along with it.
Kiffin: “Yeah, which matches my expectations. I have those expectations of myself and our teams wherever I'm at, so that aligns with how I think. So we're excited about.”
Q: I brought up Sam Leavitt. Obviously, everybody knows about him, but who are some LSU players that people should pay attention to that maybe they're not familiar with?
Kiffin: “Well, they'll be familiar with them, but you know Trey'Dez Green, the tight end, they actually gave the No. 7 jerseys (Thursday). Chose those and chose to have one on offense and defense. Leonard Fournette was here to present them. Patrick Peterson was on Zoom with it, and it was just a reminder that this place is just different.
That's not normal to have those guys give jerseys to Trey'Dez and Whit Weeks to wear them. So really excited for those guys to have that opportunity.”
Q: Can you tell me about your commercial in Fansville with Dr. Pepper?
Kiffin: “Yeah, it's really exciting. They reached out and we went out there, went to LA, which was great. And my daughter, who goes to USC was out there and came to set and didn't realize how much goes into it and how much time and energy it is. It was really neat to learn that and to see how different it is than coaching.
You can make a lot of mistakes. You just keep doing another take. It was a really cool experience and the people were great. I’m just honored to be part of Fansville.”
Q: You talk about kind of doing this whole commercial experience. Could you see yourself doing it again down the road? Now you have some experience under your belt.
Kiffin: “Yeah, I think so. It was neat, and it got easier. The boss helped me, Brian Bosworth. At first I was probably a little nervous and screwing up, and he's like, "Ah, just relax, Coach.’"
Q: How long did it take for you to finally feel a little comfortable doing this?
Kiffin: “Probably 15-to-20 minutes, and the producers were great. They helped me just kind of loosen up and then sometimes you may have had a line, and they said, "Okay, well, what would you have said in this otherwise?" And then he kind of spun off a little bit off the script, and that was really neat.”
Lane Kiffin spoke exclusively with DJ Siddiqi for Covers.com. All quotes in this article are taken from an exclusive interview conducted by Covers.com. Journalists and media outlets are welcome to use these quotes, provided they are attributed to Covers.com. Please ensure links back to the original article to provide full context for readers.
