LSU AD: Lane Kiffin Would Have Gone Somewhere Else If School Waited

The LSU Tigers received criticism for hiring away Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss before the Rebels made an appearance in the College Football Playoff in December.

Congress is looking into a bill called the Protect College Sports Act, which has what’s referred to as a “Lane Kiffin Rule” that would prohibit coaches from flirting with other schools while their season is still going.

In response to a question from WAFB 9 about the “Lane Kiffin Rule” earlier this week, LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry argued that the school needed to hire Kiffin when it did under the current calendar rules. If the Tigers didn’t take the jump by stealing Kiffin from Ole Miss, another team would have.

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"I always tell people if we wouldn't have hired Lane Kiffin, somebody else would've hired Lane Kiffin," Ausberry said. “And that's the way the calendar works. It wasn't an LSU thing, it was the calendar. Don't knock Lane Kiffin for what happened. The calendar, when it came about, this is when you can move a coach, especially when the portal opens and recruiting opens, and signing day.

“Those types of things that happened. Unless they change the calendar, we're going to always have this issue. You come up with a bill. Yes, the bill's 111 pages. We're still going through every part of that bill to see what it does for us and what it does, the good and the bad of the bill."

Kiffin wanted to remain with the Rebels after choosing to become the next head coach of the Tigers. He liked what LSU had to offer in terms of resources to consistently compete for the national championship.

Based on Ausberry’s comments, it appears Kiffin was ready to jump ship amid Ole Miss’ CFP run, regardless of whether the LSU job was open.

It’s unclear who Ausberry thought would chase Kiffin if they didn’t make the hire before the CFP. LSU was the top job available in the hiring cycle. Florida was never seriously in the race for Kiffin when the LSU gig opened up.

The Tigers could have waited, though it wouldn’t have been ideal from a recruiting perspective.

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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 12:38 AM.