By Matt AudiletShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberLane Kiffin took the podium for his introductory press conference on Monday evening, one day after accepting his position as the LSU Tigers' new head coach.
Kiffin discussed several hot topics regarding his ultimate decision to leave the Ole Miss Rebels behind and take over as the new program leader in Baton Rouge. The 50-year-old coach acknowledged that it was an exceedingly tough decision, and admitted that he went to some of his most trusted mentors for advice.
While he didn't explicitly say it, Kiffin strongly hinted that legendary college football coach Nick Saban advised him to take the LSU job.
"Coach Saban kind of coached at another place in this conference, so I can't really say exactly what he said," Kiffin explained in his press conference. "I'll say, I think the world of Coach Saban and I respect him. So, there's a reason I'm here."
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Kiffin served as the Alabama Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Saban from 2014-16. Before his historic tenure as program leader in Tuscaloosa, Saban spent five seasons as LSU's head coach in Baton Rouge (2000-04).
Kiffin just led Ole Miss through its best regular-season campaign in program history, finishing the year with an 11-1 record. He wanted to continue coaching his former team on their upcoming College Football Playoff run, but the current NCAA schedule posed too many challenges with his plans to accept the LSU job.
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Saban recently discussed Kiffin's decision on ESPN.
“I think Lane’s decision is going to come down to one thing: where is the place that I can recruit the best players? And I think one of Lane’s apprehensions is that he’s had to use the portal to build his team at Ole Miss each year,” Saban said.
“At LSU, he probably could recruit better talent and then just supplement his team by need with the portal," the legendary coach added. "... That’s probably the dilemma that he has, as well as his loyalty to his team that he’s coaching now that he wants to be able to continue to coach. So it’s a tough thing to have the right answer to.”
Kiffin ultimately signed a seven-year contract with LSU worth $91 million, making him the second-highest paid coach in college football. The newly-hired Tigers coach trails only Georgia's Kirby Smart — another Nick Saban disciple — in terms of average annual salary.
Kiffin believes his new position with LSU is the "best job in football."
"LSU is the best job in football," he said. "When you take the history, tradition, passion and the great players in the state of Louisiana... No one can argue that when you're in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, there is nothing like it. This place is built for championships with championship expectations."
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