The mystery program that tried to hire Lane Kiffin before LSU or Florida could has finally been revealed
A mystery program was hoping to hire Lane Kiffin away from the Ole Miss Rebels before he eventually landed at LSU.
New LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin raised some eyebrows during his introductory press conference on Monday when he referenced a fourth program that attempted to hire him over the last few weeks.
Everyone knew Florida was also pursuing Kiffin, and Ole Miss was, of course, trying to keep him around in Oxford. But there were never any confirmed reports about a fourth program getting in the mix.
That’s why some fans and media thought Kiffin may have misspoke when he mentioned a fourth program, perhaps delirious from his chaotic exit from Ole Miss.
But it turns out there was actually a fourth program pursuing Kiffin.
ESPN report reveals that Florida State also pursued Lane Kiffin
A report from ESPN’s Mark Schlabach on Wednesday revealed that Florida State was the mystery program that pursued Kiffin.
Schlabach made the revelation while detailing how Kiffin polled his assistant coaches at Ole Miss about where they’d prefer to coach in 2026.
“The coaches discussed four options: Remain at Ole Miss, where they had built a legitimate College Football Playoff contender; leave for SEC rivals Florida or LSU; or take over Florida State, which, according to people with knowledge of the search, was making a stealth move to poach Kiffin,” wrote Schlabach.
I’m guessing Florida State didn’t really pique Kiffin’s interest. For starters, Kiffin’s family didn’t take a trip to Tallahassee — like they did to Baton Rouge and Gainesville — to get a feel for the city. There’s also the fact that Florida State didn’t fire Mike Norvell (the assumption is that had Kiffin been interested, then the Seminoles would’ve made a move with Norvell).
You can’t blame Florida State for trying, but it was always expected that Kiffin would remain in the SEC instead of leaving for another conference.
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