LSU football vs. Florida: Which program has the better coaching job?

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LSU football and Florida are competing for the services of Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.

Kiffin is the hottest name on the 2025-26 coaching carousel. Kiffin has built Ole Miss into a proven winner, making him the top priority for top SEC programs.

The race for Kiffin is escalating. On Sunday, members of Kiffin’s camp toured Gainesville. On Monday, they were in Baton Rouge.

There’s plenty of debate and speculation about what Kiffin will do. Florida fans think Kiffin is days away from signing a contract in Gainesville. LSU fans are convinced Kiffin is destined for Baton Rouge. Meanwhile, Ole Miss just wants an answer.

It’s hard to know Kiffin’s exact considerations. At this point, it’s about more than money. Kiffin might be trying to decipher the age-old question: What is the better job?

LSU vs. Florida: What’s the better job?

LSU and Florida are two of the best gigs in the country. They’re both money-flush SEC programs that have won multiple national titles this century, with a strong recruiting location. Let’s take a closer look.

The case for LSU

For years, LSU has been considered a top-five job in college football. Its rare to see job ranking without LSU in the top-five and the Tigers often sit inside the top-three, sometimes claiming the top spot.

LSU is a place where just about anyone can win. Prior to Brian Kelly, three straight LSU coaches had won a national title in Baton Rouge: Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Ed Orgeron.

Louisiana is stockpiled with blue-chip recruits and the Tigers have no in-state Power Four program to compete with. On top of the Louisiana talent, LSU’s brand is strong enough to dip into Texas and recruit at the national level, too.

Even Kelly, who wasn’t all in on recruiting, built top-10 classes at LSU.

LSU develops NFL talent. The Tigers have produced two Heisman-winning quarterbacks in the last decade and have spent much of this century producing first-round defensive backs. LSU just had an offensive tackle picked No. 4 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft (Will Campbell).

LSU had sustained periods of success throughout the 1900s and the 2000s. Florida can’t match LSU’s history, as the Gators didn’t really find national relevance until the 90s. LSU’s won 828 games, more than Florida’s 744. LSU’s been ranked in 44 final AP Poll’s, 10 more than Florida’s 34.

There are some potential negatives to the LSU job.

The potential scene at LSU, with state politicians and boosters, can get messy. There are some questions after the governor was publicly involved in the firing of Brian Kelly. LSU has a new AD too, with Verge Ausberry taking over for Scott Woodward.

But Ausberry’s quick promotion after Woodward’s exit has brought some calm to Baton Rouge, for now at least.

The case for Florida

Louisiana has talent, but Florida has even more. Every year, Florida is one of the best states for football talent. The Gators have plenty of in-state competition for recruits, but if a head coach can harness the Florida talent machine, it won’t take long to have the Gators rolling.

With stability questions at LSU, Florida can claim stability. Athletic director Scott Stricklin is a veteran of the industry and has contract security in Gainesville.

Florida may provide more patience, too. The expectations are sky high at LSU, sometimes unfairly so. LSU would expect 10-wins right away. At Florida, Kiffin would get a grace period.

Kiffin is an offensive minded coach and Florida. He’d be following a similar track to Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer. Both were strong offensive playcallers who won national titles at UF with high-powered offenses.

Florida checks a lot of boxes, but the results haven’t been there. The last four coaches have been fired without taking Florida where it wants to go. That’s hard to ignore. If four coaches, who arrived in Gaineville with a decent resume, all fail, then the program is somewhat to blame.

Verdict: LSU gets the slight edge

LSU gets a slight edge. Earlier this month, ESPN ranked LSU as the No. 1 job available this cycle.

“LSU hasn’t won consistently enough since its last national title, but the ingredients of a top-shelf job are there, especially location and fan support,” ESPN wrote.

I second that sentiment. Even with the political distractions, LSU is the best job on the market right now.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU vs. Florida: Which program has better coaching job?

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