By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
The talk of the college football world and newest Baton Rouge resident – new LSU football coach Lane Kiffin – remains the No. 1 sports story in the country.
Kiffin, who accepted the LSU job last Saturday and arrived Sunday after leaving the Ole Miss as head coach, was scheduled to be on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday morning between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.
But late Friday night, he canceled as he was too busy trying to keep LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker from taking the head coaching job at his alma mater Tulane, or Memphis.
Or maybe, he just didn’t want to deal with more questions concerning his controversial exit from Ole Miss last week. Because, the LSU plane could’ve got him to Atlanta on Saturday. Or he could’ve done a remote appearance from LSU.
Welp had to stay in BR and still finishing some things out with players and a coach!! 🐯🐯
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) December 6, 2025
Won’t make it to Atlanta for @CollegeGameDay #WhatAGreatFriday https://t.co/I5H449u1gw
At any rate, the elusive Kiffin was able to keep Baker, just hours after signing his second five-star prospect in three days in Lamar Brown – the No. 1 prospect in the nation by ESPN and On3.com from University High on LSU’s campus. On Wednesday,Kiffin signed the No. 1 defensive tackle in the nation in Richard Anderson of Edna Karr High in New Orleans.
The hugely popular GameDay pregame show will air from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. live from Atlanta, site of the Southeastern Conference championship game at 3 p.m. Saturday between No. 3 Georgia (11-1, 7-1 SEC) and No. 9 Alabama (10-2, 7-1 SEC).
Sorry couldn’t make it to Atlanta, but so excited that I stayed to finish this all up!! @CoachBlakeBaker is going nowhere !!!! 🐯
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) December 6, 2025
What a really long amazing Friday for @LSUfootball #ItsDifferent https://t.co/Z84PhdeGVz
Kiffin was to be sitting next to or near ESPN analyst and former LSU and Alabama coach Nick Saban, whom Kiffin was offensive coordinator for from 2014-16 with the Crimson Tide and helped win the 2015 national title.
The next best thing to Nick Saban available – Lane Kiffin – is coming to LSU, if Nick Saban has his way.https://t.co/TaBuardbYF
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) November 17, 2025
As Tiger Rag reported on Nov. 17, Saban advised Kiffin to take the LSU job via Jimmy Sexton, who is Kiffin’s and Saban’s agent.
Kiffin said again Monday at his introductory press conference at LSU that he spoke to Saban and former USC head coach Pete Carroll, whom he also coached under, before taking the LSU job.
Alas, there will be time in the future for other GameDay appearances by Kiffin, who has had an incredibly hectic week.
When you start 2nd guessing yourself, then subconsciously channeling your inner Cajun Man, @Coach_EdOrgeron , then you know LSU was right decision.https://t.co/dxOk82eoOn
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) December 2, 2025
LANE KIFFIN THE TALK OF WASHINGTON D.C., TOO?
The Kiffin news cycle included Washington D.C. as well as his name was injected into the conversation on Thursday on Capitol Hill concerning a bill that could impact college football significantly.
“As the top Democrat in the U.S. House took the podium Thursday to speak out against a bill to regulate college athletics, he set his sights squarely on LSU, its new football coach — and two of the school’s alumni who are among the most powerful people on Capitol Hill,” Baton Rouge Advocate political reporter Mark Ballard wrote from D.C.
Ballard quoted House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, asking, “Why would Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise think it was a good idea to bring the Lane Kiffin Protection Act to the floor of the House of Representatives? Legislation that would do nothing to benefit college athletes and everything to benefit coaches like Lane Kiffin, who got out of town, abandoned his players in the middle of a playoff run to go get a $100 million contract from LSU – the home state of Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise,” Jeffries said.
Actually, it’s a $91 million contract over seven years. And all coaches who get other jobs or non-coaches who run companies who get other jobs have to “abandon” their players or employees. Also, with more and more coaches getting fired earlier in seasons in recent years, coaches are naturally being hired earlier. And the 12-team playoff is only in its second season, so obviously Kiffin is just the first of more coaches to come who will be in the same predicament he found himself in this season.
In fact, Tulane coach Jon Sumrall was in the same situation as Kiffin as he accepted the Florida job at about the same time. And Tulane let Sumrall coach the Green Wave Friday night in the American Conference title win over North Texas, and he will continue to coach Tulane in the College Football Playoff while also recruiting and hiring staff at Florida. North Texas coach Eric Morris, in addition, coached that team’s last two games after beginning work as Oklahoma State’s new coach.
Johnson, who is from the Shreveport area, and Scalise, who is from the New Orleans area, are the top leaders of the Republican majority House of Representatives. Johnson is the Speaker of the House while Scalise is the House Majority Leader.
“People are asking the question, why did you bring this bill this week, with all the other issues that the country is demanding that we focus on led by the affordability crisis that they say is a scam and a hoax?” Jeffries said.
Scalise is quoted as saying, “You’ve seen lawsuits erode the ability for the NCAA to even police college athletics to the point where now it’s the Wild, Wild West. There are no rules in place, no structure.”
Scalise dismissed Jeffries’ comments in line with others against the federal government’s involvement in regulating college sports.
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