Who Will Be LSU's Next Coach? Kiffin Favorite to Replace Brian Kelly; Nick Saban Trending Up

A lot has changed since Brian Kelly was fired, including the LSU next coach odds, with former Tigers head coach and Alabama legend, Nick Saban, now among the favorites to take the job in Baton Rouge.

While Saban (16% chance) was initially a long shot, he now trails just Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin (21% chance) on the oddsboard. This comes after there's been plenty of controversy around the job, following Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry stating that LSU athletic director Scott Woodward would not be hiring the next LSU head coach ... Woodward was fired shortly after Landry's comments.

This is also shaping up to be one of the craziest coaching carousels, with Auburn recently firing Hugh Freeze and Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall the early favorite to replace him. Sumrall was previously among the best LSU next coach odds bets. So who could - or would - take the LSU head coach opening?

🐯 LSU next coach odds & betting favorites

LSU next coach probability via Kalshi's prediction market:

🧨 Could LSU hire Nick Saban?

There's no bigger pull for the powers that be at LSU than to bring back Saban, who won a national title with the Tigers in 2004 before leaving for the Miami Dolphins head coaching job and ultimately returning to college in 2007 at Alabama.

Saban's name is going to continue to be mentioned when there are blue-blood SEC openings, but he seems content to stay retired from coaching and spend his Saturdays on College GameDay. A few weeks ago on "The Pat McAfee Show," Saban literally said, "I wanna stay retired," even if his wife, Miss Terry, likes the idea of the size of these contracts.

Everything here got a lot weirder recently, too, when new school president Dr. Wade Rousse initially seemed to name interim LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry as the official replacement for Woodward. Then, backtracked a day later by saying, “I’ll remove the interim [title] and then we’ll assess the situation. I can’t make a very good decision after being on the job for eight hours,” Rousse said. “I don’t know what permanent means versus removing the interim tag.”

Why would Saban leave retirement for what appears to be the messiest blue-blood opening? Especially after seeing how poorly things are going for his old buddy Bill Belichick at a North Carolina program that was not aligned on the hiring.

🏆 What about another championship winner?

The offensive coordinator for the greatest coach in college football history during that 2004 season at LSU was Jimbo Fisher, who also won a championship at Florida State. Could he be interested?

I'm sure he is, but the now-fired Woodward already wasted millions of dollars to hire him at Texas A&M before leaving for LSU, before Fisher's record-setting buyout had to be paid by Aggies boosters. And I can't think of a hire that would be more annoying to LSU fans following the firing of Kelly than to hire Fisher.

Fisher and Saban are both massive long shots and terrible options to back.

🔮 Who will be LSU head coach?

🦈 Lane Kiffin, HC, Ole Miss (21% chance)

Every upper SEC head coaching opening from now until he retires seems destined to include Lane Kiffin's name as a candidate. He's the favorite by the Florida next coach odds and has also popped up as an Auburn candidate after Freeze was fired (the Tigers reportedly tried to hire him in 2023 and settled for Freeze). Plus, if Sark is interested in the NFL as previously reported, Kiffin will definitely be on the shortlist for the Texas job.

Despite all this, I just don't see him leaving Oxford for LSU, or Florida for that matter (and definitely not Auburn) - he's certainly not the best bet for any of those jobs. And at least he has ties to Florida that could, in theory, entice him to leave (he went 26-13 as FAU's head coach, and his dad, Monte Kiffin, was a legendary defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

For now, any rumors about Kiffin leaving for another SEC job seem like a play by him and super agent Jimmy Sexton to get him a massive extension at Ole Miss. And it doesn't hurt that he has the Rebels in College Football Playoff position after an 8-1 start this season.

He does fit the bill of the splashy hire that Landry would likely covet, so I can understand why there's a 21% chance of him taking over, but I just wouldn't back him to land in Baton Rouge.

🐯 Eliah Drinkwitz, HC, Missouri (12% chance)

This would be a great hire. Eliah Drinkwitz is a proven SEC head coach, rebuilding Missouri into a ranked program and his confident demeanor seems like it would be a strong fit at LSU, and something Landry would like in his next head coach.

However, Drinkwitz seems destined for Florida, assuming Kiffin declines the opening to stay at Ole Miss. He opened with a 12.5% probability of landing in Gainesville, and now sits with a 52.38% probability to be the next Gators' head coach.

His offensive style, assertive energy, and visor wearing is too reminiscent of Steve Spurrier for Drikwitz not to be a slam dunk hire at Florida. And with how chaotic LSU's coaching search is going, I can't imagine him prioritizing the Tigers' opening over the Gators'.

🌊 Jon Sumrall, HC, Tulane (9% chance)

It's not shocking to see Sumrall among the favorites to be LSU's next coach. He's been pegged as a future SEC bench boss since going 12-2 in his first year as Troy's head coach in 2022 - he's the definition of a damn good ball coach. However, it's slightly surprising to see Sumrall's chances this high for a couple of reasons.

One big reason is that with Auburn firing Hugh Freeze, many expect athletic director John Cohen to hand Sumrall the keys. Sumrall was a linebacker at Kentucky when Cohen was the baseball coach, and both have ties to the state of Alabama, making him an obvious candidate to lead Auburn.

Another reason is that Landry probably wants to swing for the fences and not hire a G5 head coach from within his own state. LSU once passed on Louisiana head coach Billy Napier, who went 40-12 with the Ragin' Cajun, to hire Kelly - obviously, neither worked out with where they landed.

So will LSU's decision maker be able to help themselves from chasing a splashy move to make the move every ball knower will applaud? It seems unlikely with the influence of Landry, who is heavily involved in LSU football. Will he support looking in-state for Kelly's replacement, or will he want a bigger name?

🦬 Joe Brady, OC, Buffalo Bills (7% chance)

This makes too much sense on paper. Joe Brady was the passing game coordinator for LSU's record-setting national championship team in 2019 and played a major role in helping Joe Burrow win the Heisman Trophy. 

Brady parlayed that role into the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator job under Matt Rhule, which obviously didn't go great. But he landed on his feet as the Buffalo Bills QB coach in 2022, and he took over as offensive coordinator for Ken Dorsey the following November before helping Josh Allen win MVP last year.

While he does have ties to LSU and the state of Louisiana (he was an assistant for the New Orleans Saints for two seasons), Brady has been in the NFL for half a decade and seems destined for a head coaching gig in the pros. Brady has only coached at the college level for five seasons - 2013-2014 at his alma mater, William & Mary, 2015-2016 at Penn State, and 2019 at LSU.

Brady is arguably the worst value on the board due to the unlikelihood he'll leave the NFL.

📜 LSU coaching history

Here's a look at the last 10 head coaches at LSU following Brian Kelly's dismissal on Sunday.

❓ LSU next coach FAQs

Who's the favorite to be LSU's next head coach?

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin is the favorite to be LSU's next head coach based on the Kalshi prediction market. According to Kalshi, Kiffin has a 22% chance of being the Tigers' next head coach.

Why did LSU fire Brian Kelly?

LSU athletic director Scott Woodward fired Brian Kelly following a Week 9 loss to Texas A&M. The loss dropped LSU to 5-3 this season, taking Kelly's record with the Tigers to 34-14.

What is Brian Kelly's buyout?

Former LSU head coach Brian Kelly is reportedly owed more than $50 million for his buyout.