Lane Kiffin Follows Nick Saban’s Path to LSU-And No, the Calendar Isn’t to Blame
BATON ROUGE, La. - Lane Kiffin is headed to LSU, and he’s not sticking around to coach Ole Miss in the postseason. Sound familiar?
It should. We’ve seen this move before-26 years ago to the day, in fact-when Nick Saban left Michigan State for LSU, walking away from a 10-win team and a bowl game to take the Tigers’ job.
Now, as then, the conversation has turned to the college football calendar. The early signing period, the transfer portal window, and the pressure to move fast-some are pointing fingers at the system, suggesting that if the dates were different, maybe Kiffin would still be with the Rebels for their playoff run.
Let’s be clear: that’s a convenient excuse. But it’s not the reason.
History Repeats Itself in Baton Rouge
Back in 1999, the landscape looked a lot different. No transfer portal.
No December signing day. Just one national signing period in February, after the season ended.
And yet, on November 30 of that year, LSU announced it had hired a relatively unknown coach named Nick Saban away from Michigan State.
Saban didn’t wait around to coach in the Citrus Bowl. He had a better opportunity, and he took it.
Fast forward to 2025. On November 30-yes, the exact same date-LSU made another splash hire, this time landing Kiffin.
And just like his mentor, Kiffin didn’t stick around to finish what he started. Ole Miss is playoff-bound, but Kiffin’s off to Baton Rouge.
So when Saban and Kiffin point to the calendar as the culprit, it’s worth remembering: this isn’t new. Coaches have been jumping ship in November long before the portal and early signing day ever existed.
The Calendar Isn’t the Problem-Ambition Is
Saban recently went on ESPN and lamented the current structure of the college football schedule, arguing that the early signing period and transfer portal pressures force programs to hire and fire coaches earlier than they should.
“We shouldn’t have an early signing date that conflicts with people wanting to hire an early coach,” Saban said. “If we did all that in May … we wouldn’t have all these issues.”
But let’s not pretend he wasn’t the original architect of this playbook. Back in ’99, he didn’t wait for a bowl game to finish before bolting.
There was no early signing period then, no portal pressure. Just a better job offer-and he took it.
Now Kiffin’s doing the same. And just like Saban, he’s not waiting around for a postseason game, even if it’s a playoff appearance.
That’s the real headline here: for the first time, a coach has left a playoff-bound program for a higher-profile job. That’s a new wrinkle, and it raises a bigger question-what does that say about the value of the playoff versus the prestige of a program like LSU?
Would a Different Calendar Really Change Anything?
Some have argued that if the transfer portal opened later, or if the early signing period were pushed to January or May, coaches wouldn’t feel the same urgency to make moves in November. But insiders aren’t buying it.
One Power Four athletic director, speaking anonymously, put it bluntly: “Even with a change, it wouldn’t impact the hiring time frame.”
Translation: schools want their next coach in place as soon as possible. And top coaches, when offered a better job, aren’t going to wait around and risk losing that opportunity. Whether it’s November, January, or May, the timeline doesn’t change the ambition.
Let’s not kid ourselves-if LSU had waited until after the season to hire Kiffin, they’d be risking another program swooping in. And Kiffin? He wasn’t going to pass up LSU just to coach one more game, even if that game was in the College Football Playoff.
The Real Shift: The Playoff, Not the Portal
What’s changed in college football isn’t the hiring process-it’s the stakes. The move from a four-team to a 12-team playoff has elevated the postseason, giving more teams a shot at the title. That should, in theory, make those games more meaningful.
But Kiffin’s decision shows that for some coaches, the prestige of the job still outweighs the opportunity to chase a championship-at least with a program that might not be built for sustained playoff success.
Back in 1999, Michigan State would’ve made a 12-team playoff under today’s format. Saban still left. Now Kiffin’s doing the same, walking away from a playoff team for what he sees as a step up the ladder.
It’s not about the calendar. It’s about the climb.
Ole Miss Moves On, Just Like Michigan State Did
In case anyone forgot, Michigan State went on to win the Citrus Bowl without Saban. Ole Miss will now try to do the same-only this time, the stakes are even higher.
There’s no denying Kiffin’s move is historic. He’s the first coach to leave a playoff team for another job.
But it’s not the calendar that made it happen. It’s the same thing that’s always driven these decisions: opportunity, ambition, and the relentless pursuit of the next big thing.
And in that way, Lane Kiffin just became the latest coach to prove that in college football, timing is always secondary to the job offer on the table.