With the LSU Tigers needing a new head football coach, Nick Saban weighed in on the vacancy and whether it’s one of the best jobs in the country.
Nick Saban on LSU’s Head Coaching Opportunity
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The coaching carousel in college football gained another participant this past weekend. LSU fired head coach Brian Kelly following the Tigers’ 49-25 loss to Texas A&M.
After a 4-0 start, LSU has lost three of its last four games to ranked SEC opponents: Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M.
After leading Notre Dame for 12 seasons, Kelly left the Fighting Irish for LSU. In four seasons, Kelly went 34–14. However, LSU failed to make the College Football Playoff in every season under Kelly.
Considering LSU’s last three head coaches won national championships, Kelly’s tenure is regarded as a failure.
Now, LSU needs to find a new coach. In a deep SEC, is LSU one of the top jobs in the sport?
Who better to ask than Saban, who won a national championship at LSU in 2003?
On paper, LSU should be one of the best jobs. It rules the state of Louisiana and has a great track record of sending players to the NFL.
However, Saban stated that times have changed in college. What was once important — facilities and recruiting — has taken a back seat to NIL and money.
“That’s changed dramatically, the whole question of what constitutes the best job,” Saban told On3. “What used to make a job great was facilities, fan support, good academic support, recruiting base and being able to create value for the players. Now that has been minimized to how much money do you have to spend on building a roster. That is the most important thing by far.”
LSU Next Football Coach
"I'm glad that the players make money. … But it's how they get the money that creates a lot of distractions."
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The first name on LSU’s list will likely be Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. The Rebels coach knows how to recruit and win in the modern SEC.
The only problem with Kiffin is that the Florida Gators also want to hire him for their head coaching vacancy.
Which is a better job: LSU or Florida? Saban says it’s unclear because Ole Miss might be Kiffin’s best option.
“Lane is the first name up for Florida and the first name up for LSU, but I think you can have a long debate on whether either one of those jobs is actually better than the job he has now because he has some guys over there at Ole Miss that give him pretty much whatever he wants from a roster standpoint,” Saban explained. “He may not necessarily have the same thing at Florida or LSU. So you look at these jobs differently now.”
Home run hires for LSU include Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Oregon’s Dan Lanning. Both coaches will reportedly stay at their respective schools.
After those three, LSU might have to settle for coaches at smaller programs, like Tulane’s Jon Sumrall, Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz, and Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham.
