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Dec 1, 2025; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU new head coach Lane Kiffin speaks at South Stadium Club at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
When a new head coach is hired for any team in any sport, expectations are created immediately. The level of those expectations starts to change when considering experience, the roster, or the sport itself. For LSU HC Lane Kiffin, those expectations are through the roof.
Kiffin has SEC head-coaching experience, has led teams to wins, is an extremely smart offensive coach, is very confident in his abilities, and has a very good roster with a great coaching staff. This is a recipe for success, but a first-year coach is still a first-year coach. It does take time for any coach to settle in and build the full team they want. Because of this, the first season can end up being a disappointment given the high expectations placed on the coach, so establishing a baseline outcome may be a better way to evaluate.
Sometimes, just having a good season to start off a new coaching gig is exactly what needs to happen. It can bring expectations down a bit and give the new HC some challenges to deal with and learn from. For Kiffin, it’s going to be impossible to bring down those expectations, sadly. He is in Baton Rouge to win multiple National Championships. But the odds of that happening in year 1 are extremely low. So if LSU is unable to win a championship right away, having at least a good start is extremely important for Kiffin, but what would that look like?
No matter what, LSU must be fighting for a playoff spot. If CFB still had a 4-team playoff, this would be another story, but now 12 teams can make the postseason. Being around that 10-15 ranking to finish the season would be a really good start to Kiffin’s career at LSU, even if they are unable to make the playoffs. It proves that Kiffin was able to overcome challenges and get LSU back into the mix to make the postseason. Also, the season would be a great foundation to build on going into 2027, and the national championship should be an expectation rather than a hope.
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