The transition from Ole Miss to LSU hasn't been a smooth one for coach Lane Kiffin, which is putting it mildly. After all, he abruptly left his No. 7 11-1 team, which is in a prime position to contend for a title.
Meanwhile, LSU is currently 7-5 and is unranked. So one could understand why Ole Miss fans would boo Kiffin as he boarded the plane to take him to LSU on Sunday.
Nevertheless, Kiffin has something in store for him at Baton Rouge that would make him stand out above the rest, per Wilson Alexander of The Advocate. The University and Kiffin each agreed to a seven-year $91 million contract.
However, if he leads the Tigers to a national championship, Kiffin could become the highest-paid coach in the nation. His contract includes an automatic escalator.
This is the culmination of months of speculation about whether Kiffin would leave Ole Miss. As the College Football Playoff approaches, Kiffin will not be at the helm for Ole Miss, leaving the campus community shocked and angered.
As a result, the defensive coordinator, Pete Golding, will take over as head coach. Reasons Kiffin chose LSU included the program's resources and its history of winning national championships.
Meanwhile, outgoing Tigers coach Brian Kelly will receive a $54 million buyout.
Other coaches who left their posts at the peak
In the history of college football, other coaches chose to leave even while their teams were successful for various reasons.
Legendary Nebraska coach Tom Osborne retired after leading the Cornhuskers to the 1997 national championship. In 1976, Pittsburgh coach Johnny Majors left after leading his team to the national title to coach his alma mater, Tennessee.
After leading Washington to a split national championship in 1991, Don James retired in 1993.
Mack Brown left North Carolina after leading the Tar Heels to numerous winning seasons to take a coaching job at Texas in 2005.
