Lane Kiffin says ‘tons of work’ left for LSU to turn around

Baton Rouge, La. — Lane Kiffin, wearing a white T-shirt, white shorts and a white visor, walked off the field after LSU’s first spring practice Tuesday and wasted little time addressing the stratospheric expectations surrounding his highly publicized arrival on the Bayou.

“Things don’t happen overnight,” Kiffin warned before a crowd of reporters asked him a question inside a team meeting room in LSU’s football operations building. “We are taking some first steps.

“There’s a lot of work,” Kiffin continued, “to get the program back to where everybody around here wants it.”

Noting that the Tigers went 7-6 last season, Kiffin added that “it’s a long jump to get to the level I’m here at.”

Kiffin began his tenure by rebuilding the roster, adding nearly 40 transfers and more than a dozen signees. In all, there were 54 new players on the field to open spring practice.

That includes quarterback Sam Leavitt, a transfer from Arizona State who spent this offseason recovering from a foot injury that required surgery. He participated in individual drills, throwing to receivers on a range of short and long sideline and crossing routes. Others include edge rusher Princewill Umanmilen and linebacker TJ Daughtry, who followed Kiffin from rival Mississippi, and several new receivers from programs across the country.

A few more who are not yet enrolled are expected to arrive during the summer.

Still, Kiffin played down LSU’s depth, insisting it’s harder to stockpile talent in this era of player payments and greatly reduced restrictions on transfers.

“We’re going to have really good front-line talent guys on the roster, and we’re going to have some depth issues,” Kiffin said. “I’m sure all programs probably feel that way these days.”

Kiffin had just coached Ole Miss to an 11-1 regular-season record and a College Football Playoff berth in 2025 when the Rebels were swept away on Nov. 30 by LSU, which fired Brian Kelly in late October.

The time and money involved in LSU’s coaching changes highlight the increasingly cutthroat, big-money nature of major college football.

Govt. With Jeff Landry wielding political influence over the football program at his state’s flagship university, LSU fired Kelly in year 4 of a 10-year, $100 million contract — a move that required the school to accept a nearly $54 million buyout.

Landry and his top recruits on LSU’s Board of Supervisors then pressured athletic director Scott Woodward to resign. They promoted then-deputy AD and former LSU football player Verge Osberry, who later followed up by offering Kiffin a seven-year, $91 million contract and promising to pay players millions more.

Once Kiffin agreed to take the LSU job, Ole Miss kept him from coaching the Rebels the following season.

Kelly suggested during a recent media appearance that Kiffin’s current roster could cost as much as $40 million. LSU football has not publicly released specific statistics regarding player payments.

Since Kiffin’s arrival in Baton Rouge, he hasn’t been shy about posting his whereabouts on social media, including spending time engaging with some of Louisiana’s most famous cultural traditions.

But after practice, he insisted, “Make no mistake, because, you know, you see me doing something around the community or a parade or a Mardi Gras or a concert, that there’s not a relentless pursuit of greatness.”

Kiffin said he took a moment when he walked out to practice for the first time to reflect on how grateful he is to have the opportunity to coach at LSU, a storied program with a passionate following and a famous home stadium.

He said he thought about “the level of responsibility I’ve had here at LSU, the people of Louisiana, the great players and coaches that have been here before.”

“It was pretty cool,” he added, “that’s all I could think about today as I walked onto the field.”