Unlike Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin is now in a program familiar with winning national championships, having won three of them since the turn of the century. Fortunately, he is not only backed by the program and his players. An LSU legend, who is a fan of Kiffin’s unpredictable style, is now backing him to restore the program’s former success.

“Excited, man,” LSU Tigers and Pittsburgh Steelers legend Alan Faneca said about how he feels about Kiffin taking over LSU on WAFB. “You know, when I think of Lane Kiffin’s teams in the past, I think of them as being exciting, and maybe a bit unpredictable, and not the norm, right? You’re not going to expect the norm when you see them. So, I’m really excited about seeing what that looks like at LSU with our arsenal and some of the new pieces that they’ve been able to pull in.

“I think it’s really exciting to see what that type of energy that football will bring to the Tigers’ stadium. The energy, those big plays, that exciting way of playing hasn’t been consistent in the last couple of years. So, I think our fan base is just going to eat it up.”

The LSU team that finished with a 3-5 SEC record in 2025 looked nothing like the one that finished with 10-2 and 9-3 records in Faneca’s last two seasons with them in 1996 and 1997, respectively.

After finishing with a 4-7 record in his freshman year, Faneca and the Tigers went on to hit a 7-4-1 record in coach Gerry DiNardo’s first season, before even doing better in his final two seasons. But that is not even the goal. If anything, Faneca would rather the team look more like the national championship-winning sides in 2003, 2007, or 2019.

Kiffin is currently one of the best offensive masterminds in college football, and his unpredictability is a major reason. His offenses have benefited the most from this trait, as he has produced historic numbers throughout his career. During his time at Ole Miss, the offense led the FBS in total yards per game, averaging 503.70 yards.

The LSU head coach also revolutionized Alabama’s offense under Nick Saban. Interestingly, when Kiffin was the Ole Miss head coach, he was part of a unique game in SEC history. In 2020, with Saban coaching the Tide, Ole Miss and Alabama produced 1,367 yards of total offense in a game.

Coincidentally, the offensive line is the unit of the Tigers’ team that needs the most attention. Last season, the unit allowed 29 sacks, ranking 99th out of 136 FBS teams; Faneca also highlighted the need for greater consistency. Again, the rushing offense ranked 126th nationally, averaging 104.0 yards per game.

The head coach brought Jordan Seaton from Colorado to replenish the O-line. And in Sam Leavitt, the Tigers will have a QB who can lead them to glory.