LIVE Blog: Lane Kiffin's first press conference as LSU head coach
On Sunday, LSU Football named Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin as the team’s new head coach, putting and end to a month-plus long search to replace Brian Kelly.
On Monday, Kiffin stood in front of a crowd of media, administration, politicians, boosters and beyond.
In his first press conference as head coach at LSU, there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.
With Kiffin’s LSU introductory press conference set to start at 3:30 p.m. CT in the North Stadium Club in Tiger Stadium, track everything he said in the live updates below.
(Note: Refresh this story for the latest updates)
New-look Death Valley is revealed
12/01/2025 03:34:03 PMThe banners in and around Tiger Stadium have changed quickly following LSU’s hire of Lane Kiffin as the football program’s new head coach.
A press conference filled with more than media
12/01/2025 03:36:28 PMGiven the nature of an LSU coaching search that began with the firing of Brian Kelly and ended with the hire of Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, a packed crowd for his first press conference is expected. Toss in Louisiana’s ties to LSU Football, and a list of attendees that includes local and national media was made far bigger with the presence of all of LSU’s notable administrators, new LSU President Wade Rousse, Louisiana politicians, many of the school’s most well-known athletics boosters, the members of the Board of Supervisors, LSU Athletics Director Verge Ausberry and the search committee, and more.
Lane Kiffin arrives at the podium in Tiger Stadium
12/01/2025 03:46:31 PMJust short of 4 p.m. CT, Lane Kiffin made his first appearance in front of Baton Rouge media when he took the stage to begin Monday’s press conference. Upon arrival, the LSU Board of Supervisors, members of the search committee, notable boosters, politicians and more give him a standing ovation.
LSU President opens press conference, hands it over to Verge
12/01/2025 03:57:15 PMLSU President Wade Rousse, who was hired during the school’s search for a head coach, introduced Lane Kiffin and his family. After some opening remarks about the excitement surrounding the hire, Rousse circled new LSU Athletics Director Verge Ausberry as the “architect” to hiring Kiffin. Ausberry took the stage and made one thing clear. From the day the decision was made to fire Brian Kelly, Lane Kiffin was No. 1 on the search list – and the committee never wavered from it. “We believed it would be the perfect fit,” Ausberry said.
Lane Kiffin’s opening statement
12/01/2025 04:19:50 PMLane Kiffin’s opening statement, which can be viewed in the video below, lasted nearly six minutes – and he touched on the move to LSU, the challenging times over the past month, a difficult decision to leave Ole Miss, his view of LSU Football and more.
LSU interim head coach Frank Wilson will coach the bowl game
12/01/2025 04:20:18 PMLane Kiffin said discussions with current LSU interim head coach Frank Wilson led to a decision to allow Wilson to continue to guide the team through bowl practices and coach the Tigers in the bowl game the program accepts an invitation to play in.
LSU’s NIL pitch was one thing that won Kiffin over
12/01/2025 04:27:46 PMLane Kiffin said all the contracts presented and packages pitched by schools like LSU, Ole Miss, Florida (and, maybe others) were “similar”. That was not the case when it came to NIL backing promised by LSU vs. others. “Those were not the same,” Kiffin said.
The end of a wild Sunday brought resolution for Lane
12/01/2025 04:35:36 PMAs Kiffin made the difficult decision to leave Ole Miss and board a plane to LSU while Rebels fans booed from behind the fence of the airport, emotions ran high. But, when the day finally came to an end late in the night on Sunday in Baton Rouge, Kiffin said the decision hit him in a way he never expected. While driving by Tiger Stadium with his family, Kiffin – for reasons he said are still unknown – “started talking like Coach O”. Kiffin said he immediately called Orgeron looking for an answer. “I was channeling Ed … I had no idea what was happening to me.”