It's been a wild couple of weeks in Baton Rouge. Since Brian Kelly's firing following a 49-25 loss to Texas A&M, all eyes have been on the LSU athletic department as the program begins its search for a new head football coach. It's been a bumpy ride with plenty of moving pieces and power dynamics at play, which has made the search even more of a circus through the first two weeks.
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The college football coaching carousel is setting records so far this season, and despite all the chaos, LSU remains the top job available. Lane Kiffin is a big-time name that has been circulating on LSU hot boards since the minute Kelly was fired. As the coaching search moves along, could an NFL job opening impact LSU's pursuit of Kiffin?
The New York Giants made the move to fire head coach Brian Daboll on Monday. Much like in college football, whenever an NFL head coach is fired, names of potential replacements begin making the rounds on social media. Kiffin's name is one that has been popping up for the Giants job.
π NEW: Lane Kiffin favored to replace Brian Daboll as Giantsβ next head coach
Will Lane Kiffin be at Ole Miss Next year? πππ
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Whether or not Kiffin has any desire to return to the NFL remains to be seen, but it's a situation worth monitoring. While it was short-lived, Kiffin does have NFL head coaching experience in his career. Kiffin was infamously the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 2007-08. It was a bumpy tenure in Oakland for Kiffin, who was fired after posting a 5-15 record through 20 games.
What adds even more intrigue to the situation is that New York quarterback Jaxson Dart played for Kiffin at Ole Miss. Dart started 39 games for the Rebels under Kiffin, and the pair have a strong connection that is sure to make Kiffin think about the possibility of reuniting.
On the season, Dart has completed 128 of his 204 pass attempts (62.7 completion percentage) for 1,417 yards and 10 touchdowns with three interceptions. He's also ran for 317 yards and seven touchdowns. He's been one of the most exciting rookies in the NFL this season, and is firmly in the Rookie of the Year conversation. In fact, with odds of +160 on DraftKings Sportsbook, Dart has the second-best odds to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
In addition to the Giants job opening, the circus surrounding the LSU Football program could also scare off coaching candidates such as Kiffin. With such little stability at the moment, it will be interesting to see what comes next in the LSU coaching search.