Miguez: Kiffin is under more pressure to succeed than any first year coach ever

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When a coach arrives at a new school, regardless of his prior success, in most cases, he is given some wiggle room for a slow start to Year One.

I can’t say the same for Lane Kiffin.

After spending six years at Ole Miss and leading the Rebels to their first appearance in the College Football Playoff, Kiffin took the short drive west to try to revitalize an LSU program that was never bad under Brian Kelly, but just didn’t reach the potential of its roster.

In just a few short months, Kiffin has created the most expensive roster in college football, and the expectations are through the roof. Then, you get into the schedule with Clemson, Ole Miss, Alabama, and others in a gauntlet of SEC play. Obviously, Kiffin is used to the Murderer’s Row that the SEC can be in October and November, but starting his tenure at LSU with a national primetime broadcast against a strong program like Clemson? No margin for error there.

Not to mention the trash talk.

Kiffin has taken several digs at Ole Miss and other schools around the country since being hired in December, talking about the struggles he faced in recruiting while coaching in Oxford, Mississippi. Earlier this week, he dug at the Rebels again, saying their 2025 CFP run could’ve “ended differently had he gotten his wish” to stay and coach the team. He also referred to Ole Miss as the “last place”, saying that they would’ve had to build a statue of him had he stayed.

Now, Kiffin has done a phenomenal job early on with the construction of the nation’s most expensive roster, bringing in Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt as well as bringing in Princely Umanmielen, TJ Dottery, and Winnie Watkins. He was also able to keep Whit Weeks and DJ Pickett on the defensive side to stay in Baton Rouge, which will bring leadership and firepower.

With everything that has happened, the rivalry between both schools is boiling over and will make the matchup in Oxford on September 19 must-see TV.

This type of pressure is something that has never been seen for a college football head coach in his first year, but if anybody is up for the challenge, I’d put my money on Lane Kiffin.

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