LSU moved on from Brian Kelly after he failed to deliver a national championship. Lane Kiffin has been brought in as the new head coach and will be looking to deliver the program to the promised land. Now, the question is, can Kiffin deliver a national championship at LSU?
LSU has fallen short of expectations in recent years. After winning it all in 2019 under Ed Orgeron, they would go just 11-12 in the next two seasons, leading to Orgeron's dismissal. That led to the hiring of Brian Kelly. Like Kiffin, Kelly was leaving a program with success, exiting from Notre Dame. He did not win a title with the Irish and was looking for one with his new challenge. In the four years since the Kelly hire, LSU has regressed.
The first year, they finished 10-4 with a Citrus Bowl win and played in the SEC Championship. The next year was 10-3, with a ReliaQuest Bowl win, but no SEC Championship appearance. In 2024, the team fell to 9-4, finishing fourth in the conference, but winning the Texas Bowl. This season, LSU is just 7-5, and while they will go bowling, it is not at the level of expectations for the program. Now, Kiffin has to reach those expectations.
Louisiana has a rich talent pool
The new LSU head coach has been known for his recruiting ability. Kiffin flipped multiple recruits from Ole Miss to LSU on early signing day. His ability to recruit goes back to his time at USC, when he was the recruiting coordinator. This includes multiple number-one-ranked recruiting classes for the Trojans. He also built up Florida Atlantic through the recruiting trail, helping them win conference championships.
At Ole Miss, Kiffin signed five consecutive Top 25 high school recruiting classes. Ole Miss was ranked 16th in the 2025 cycle and entered the week ranked 21st in the 2026 cycle. They finished the week 33rd in the 247Sports composite ranking, dropping 12 spots. Meanwhile, LSU jumped up to the 12th-ranked recruiting class. That included a commitment from the top player in the state, and fourth-ranked recruit in the nation, Lamar Brown.
Further, Kiffin was able to bring in the top three-ranked players in Louisiana to the program. In 2025, LSU secured just one of the top three players, and he was the 33rd-ranked player in the class overall. Meanwhile, Ole Miss secured the third-ranked player out of Louisiana. Ole Miss, under Kiffin, has consistently brought in the top recruit from the state of Mississippi as well, including in the 2025 class. The ability to recruit is going to create a solid base for Kiffin to work with.
Lane Kiffin is great in the transfer portal
It is not just high school recruiting that Kiffin is great at. He is also a master of the transfer portal. In the last four seasons, he has brought in four straight top-six transfer classes, including the top class in the 2024 cycle. That year, he secured five-star transfer Walter Nolen, while adding seven more four-star level transfers.
Last year, he added nine four-star transfers, plus two three-stars that made a massive impact. One of the major transfer additions was four-star Princewill Umanmielen from Nebraska, who led Ole Miss with 6.5 sacks this past season. Meanwhile, receiver De'Zhaun Stribling led the team with five touchdown receptions, coming in from Oklahoma State. Harrison Wallace led the team in receiving yards with 719 while scoring three times after coming in from Penn State. Finally, Deuce Alexander brought in 34 receptions for 577 yards and two scores after leaving Wake Forest.
One of the best transfers of the class was Kewan Lacy, who left Missouri. Lacy just finished the year with 1,279 yards and 20 touchdowns. Further, he is just a sophomore, and it is possible that Kiffin, plus the massive influx of NIL money going into the LSU program, could convince him to transfer again.
The player who best shows Kiffin's ability to find quality transfers is Trindad Chambliss. He came into the program from Ferris State, a Division-II program. He was not expected to be the starter. Still, he earned the job, passing for 3,016 yards and 18 touchdowns. He has also run for 470 yards and six touchdowns. While technically a senior, he appeared in just two games in 2022 with Ferris State, meaning he could possibly get another year of eligibility and also head to LSU.
LSU will improve under Kiffin
LSU has a recent history of winning. They won the national title back in 1958 under Paul Dietzel, going 11-0 and winning the Sugar Bowl. It would be over 40 years until LSU got back to winning titles. Nick Saban won it all in 2003, then Les Miles did it in 2007, followed by Orgeron winning it all in 2019. Before Kelly, each of the last three coaches had won an SEC Title in their first three seasons and a national title within their first four.
Kiffin also has a history of improving programs. In 2008, Tennessee was 5-7, but went 7-6 after a bowl loss in Kiffin's only year. In 2010, he inherited a USC team dealing with NCAA sanctions, and still led them to an 8-5 record while losing players. Florida Atlantic had won nine combined games in three years prior to Kiffin's arrival. He won 11 in his first season with a conference title. Finally, Ole Miss had not had a winning record since 2015. In 2020, he led the Rebels to a 5-5 record while dealing with COVID-19-related restrictions, but the next season went 10-3.
The key to the improvement will be not only the transfer portal, but his ability to work with the offense. Ole Miss was top-seven in yards per game in all but one season under Kiffin, and they were 20th that year. This year, the Rebels are third in yards per game and 13th in points per game. Meanwhile, LSU was 117th in points per game and 119th in yards per game in 2025. The offense will instantly improve, and with an already solid defense in place, the turnaround can be quick.
Regardless, winning a National Championship is difficult. Lane Kiffin will be in a perfect position to do so. As long as he can continue what he has done at previous stops, the fans in Baton Rouge will be celebrating another title soon.
