Ryan Clark reveals he was in daily contact with Lane Kiffin over LSU job after Brian Kelly’s firing
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Ryan Clark grew up in Louisiana and was a standout at LSU before a decade-plus long NFL career, so his finger is always on the pulse of Tigers football.
Naturally, the ESPN analyst had a vested interest in the happenings around Baton Rouge during the 2025 season. With the firing of Brian Kelly, the program needed to bring someone in that would restore them to championship status.
The primary person Clark had in mind? None other than Lane Kiffin. Clark said on the Club 520 podcast that he texted Kiffin daily after Kelly’s firing all the way up until the day Kiffin was announced as Kelly’s successor after six seasons at Ole Miss.
“Let’s just say I knew Lane was gonna be our head coach a long time before the rest of the world,” Clark said, according to Awful Announcing. “As soon as BK was fired, that was my pick. That was who I wanted … there wasn’t a day I don’t have a text with Lane Kiffin. I’ve got more group chats with Lane Kiffin than I do my real home boys.”
Kiffin’s departure from Ole Miss obviously wasn’t without its share of controversy. But Clark is confident that LSU made the right choice, noting that it was the opposite of the feeling he got from Kelly, who he said “felt like he was doing us a favor” by leaving Notre Dame for the SEC.
“(Kiffin’s) excited to work there, and that’s what you want,” he said.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
