Lane Kiffin Faces Mounting Pressure to Deliver at LSU

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Lane Kiffin Faces Mounting Pressure to Deliver at LSU

Lane Kiffin is facing scrutiny at LSU after a 31-13 loss to Alabama left his team at 6-3. Brian Kelly was 5-3 when he was fired, and LSU gave him an enormous payout because the program wanted to bring in a special coach.

Kiffin was not hired to be merely decent. He was brought to Baton Rouge to be exceptional, but LSU has not made the big plays when needed. With Texas and Tennessee still on the schedule, two more losses are possible for the highest-paid coach in college football.

After the Alabama loss, Kiffin said LSU had an opportunity to change the game after taking the lead late in the third quarter. The team had momentum and the crowd behind it, but it could not get the stop it needed.

LSU is not a program where a coach can lose three or four games without criticism. The expectation is to compete for national championships and reach the 12-team tournament. That is why Kiffin was hired and Kelly was fired.

The LSU job is one of the most pressurized positions in college football. The program will provide every tool needed to win a national championship, so a 6-3 record will naturally lead to questions. While this is only Kiffin’s first year, the next two seasons will show where the program is headed.

The belief remains that John Summerall at Florida will ultimately prove to be a better hire than Kiffin at LSU. When coaches say they do not know why the team cannot get the job done, it can sound like criticism of the players and the roster.

Kiffin needs victories over Texas and Tennessee. If LSU cannot win those games and improve its position for the 12-team tournament, the criticism will only intensify.