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Kirk Herbstreit bets on Lane Kiffin at LSU: 'Wherever he goes, he's going to win'

Byington mugby: Alex Byington05/12/26_AlexByington

Lane Kiffin continues to dominate headlines six months into his tenure as LSU‘s head football coach, especially after a recent media blitz that included a controversial feature in Vanity Fair this week. Buried in the lengthy magazine feature released Monday, Kiffin sparked outrage when the former Ole Miss coach suggested the state’s history of segregation made recruiting elite talent more difficult than what he faces in Baton Rouge.

Kiffin has since apologized for any offense taken by his comments to Vanity Fair in a statement to On3’s Wilson Alexander, but it nevertheless continues to amp up attention on LSU during an eventful offseason that included a roster overhaul with 40 new transfer portal additions, including the No. 1 overall player in former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt.

Given all those factors, as well as his history of infusing energy and excitement into his previous SEC stops at Tennessee and Ole Miss, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit is betting the over on the 51-year-old Kiffin becoming a massive success in Baton Rouge.

“I think the sky is the limit (at LSU) with Lane Kiffin. I know he is a polarizing figure, I know a lot of people like to talk about stuff he says, whether it’s what he (posts) on X or what he might say. But I’m telling you, I think he’s going to bring an energy (to Baton Rouge),” Herbstreit said Tuesday afternoon during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “When you’re around LSU when they’re rolling, it’s different than any other program in the country. It’s not a swagger, … (but) when they recruit the state of Louisiana, there’s such pride in that state when it comes to how good they are in football. … I think he’s going to plug into that.

“I don’t know how soon, … (but) I would take the over, personally, on LSU with Lane Kiffin. And this is just the beginning, Year 1, and I think it’s a good fit. Just like he was a good fit at Ole Miss. I think wherever he goes, he’s going to win.”

Since returning as a collegiate head coach after a three-year sabbatical as Alabama‘s offensive coordinator, Kiffin is a combined 81-32 over the past nine seasons at FAU and Ole Miss. That includes six seasons with double-digit victories, including three straight to end his six-year tenure in Oxford.

Now, Kiffin is looking to bring that same level of consistency — as well as his patented “juice” — to an LSU program desperate for a return to national prominence after five years out of the College Football Playoff picture. And you can count Kirk Herbstreit among Kiffin’s biggest believers entering the 2026 season.