LSU head coach Lane Kiffin was scheduled to make an appearance with ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday morning, but was unable to make the trip to Atlanta as he landed the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit and retained highly-sought-after defensive coordinator Blake Baker.
Still, the “College GameDay” crew discussed Kiffin’s ultimate decision to leave the Ole Miss Rebels in the midst of their program-best season to take his new heading coaching gig in Baton Rouge.
During his introductory press conference at LSU, Kiffin revealed that he called a few veteran coaches from his college football past for advice — including former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach and current ESPN “College GameDay” analyst Nick Saban.
Saban revealed the role he played in Kiffin’s decision during Saturday morning’s episode of “College GameDay.”
“Well, I think I get a lot of calls, because some people view me maybe as a senior professional that has a lot of experience in the game, after 50 years, 25 years of the head coach, so as a person, as a human being, you want to help everybody you can,” Saban said, via On3 Sports. “You know, I’m kind of in this for the betterment of the game, really, for the players and coaches…So anyone who calls me, whether it’s a player, a coach, an administrator, I try to do the best I can, to give them the best information to make the best decisions for the betterment of the game.”
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“The first thing I ask a coach, if he’s talking about contemplating changing jobs, is, what do you want to do? And I want them to follow their heart in terms of what they want to accomplish and what they want to do,” the legendary coach continued. “I never tell anybody what they should do. I just try to bring some thought into it so that they can make good decisions for themselves and their family and their future.”
Kiffin left Ole Miss just before its College Football Playoff run. The Rebels earned No. 6 position in the penultimate CFP rankings after finishing the 2025 season with a 11-1 record.
Kiffin wanted to continue coaching Ole Miss on its CFP run, but school leadership would not allow it with his impending departure for LSU.
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Saban said Kiffin was “very confused” before making his final decision.
“I think he was very confused,” Saban said. “And I think this is a difficult circumstance to be in. I’ve been in this situation before where you finish the season, you want to stay with your team, you want to coach them, whether it’s in the ball game or the playoffs or whatever it is, but you feel like you owe it to yourself and your family to at least look at other opportunities and consider them and see if they think that’s a better situation for you in the future. And the based on the way the calendar is, that never fits together correctly.”
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