LSU football news: Is Lane Kiffin most 'polarizing' figure in CFB? Matt Leinart says so
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LSU football head coach Lane Kiffin’s first return to Ole Miss prompted Matt Leinart to label him the most polarizing coach in college football history ahead of Saturday night’s top-10 SEC matchup.
Leinart played at USC while Kiffin served on Pete Carroll’s staff, giving the former Heisman Trophy winner a long-standing connection to the Tigers’ first-year coach.
FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff took to X, formerly Twitter, sharing Leinart’s assessment as No. 7 LSU prepares to visit No. 8 Ole Miss in Kiffin’s first game back in Mississippi since leaving the Rebels for Baton Rouge.
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“He’s the most polarizing coach I think in the history of college football. He loves trolling. He loves playing the villain. This one just feels a little different for me today. It’s gonna be it’s gonna be for LSU to go on the road there today.”
Is Lane Kiffin the most polarizing figure in CFB history? @MattLeinartQB gives his thoughts here pic.twitter.com/F7RTSCcvjW
— Big Noon Kickoff (@BNKonFOX) September 19, 2026
Kiffin spent six seasons at Ole Miss before becoming LSU’s head coach on November 30, 2025. He finished 55-19 with the Rebels, including four 10-win seasons and an 11-1 regular season in 2025.
Ole Miss reached its first College Football Playoff that season, but Kiffin did not coach the Rebels in the postseason after departing for LSU. A FOX graphic accompanying Saturday’s discussion listed his Ole Miss record as 59-19, but the verified total is 55-19.
His move to Baton Rouge came on a seven-year contract worth $13 million annually before incentives. Saturday marks his first game against the program he left and his first return to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as LSU’s coach.
The matchup also carries significant stakes beyond the former Rebels head coach’s return to Oxford. LSU and Ole Miss both enter 2-0, with the No. 7 Tigers visiting the No. 8 Rebels in their SEC opener.
Kiffin now faces his former program Saturday night with both teams unbeaten and ranked inside the top 10.
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