LSU has had four coaches win national championships, and the three most recent came in a row: Nick Saban in 2003, Les Miles in 2007 and Ed Orgeron in 2019. Brian Kelly, hired to continue that sequence, was fired eight games into his fourth season with the largest buyout in the sport’s history. Lane Kiffin arrived from Ole Miss in December 2025 and begins his first season with a home game against Clemson.
The Modern Era
| Coach | Seasons | Record | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lane Kiffin | 2026 to present | First season | None yet |
| Frank Wilson | 2025 | 2, 3 | Interim |
| Brian Kelly | 2022 to 2025 | 34, 14 | None, 2022 SEC title game |
| Ed Orgeron | 2016 to 2021 | 51, 20 | National 2019; SEC 2019 |
| Les Miles | 2005 to 2016 | 114, 34 | National 2007; SEC 2007, 2011 |
| Nick Saban | 2000 to 2004 | 48, 16 | National 2003; SEC 2001, 2003 |
| Gerry DiNardo | 1995 to 1999 | 32, 24, 1 | None |
| Curley Hallman | 1991 to 1994 | 16, 28 | None |
| Mike Archer | 1987 to 1990 | 27, 18, 1 | SEC 1988 |
| Bill Arnsparger | 1984 to 1986 | 26, 8, 2 | SEC 1986 |
| Jerry Stovall | 1980 to 1983 | 22, 21, 2 | None |
| Charles McClendon | 1962 to 1979 | 137, 59, 7 | SEC 1970 |
| Paul Dietzel | 1955 to 1961 | 46, 24, 3 | National 1958; SEC 1958, 1961 |
| Gaynell Tinsley | 1948 to 1954 | 35, 34, 6 | None |
| Bernie Moore | 1935 to 1947 | 83, 39, 6 | SEC 1935, 1936 |
Gold rows are coaches who won a national or SEC title. Bo Rein was hired for 1980 and died in a plane crash before coaching a game. Orgeron’s record includes his 2016 interim stint. Before 1935 the program had more than twenty coaches in 42 seasons, including Dana X. Bible for a single season in 1916.
Charles McClendon, 1962 to 1979
McClendon won 137 games in eighteen seasons, more than any LSU coach, and had one losing year. He coached under Paul Dietzel for nine seasons before succeeding him, won the SEC in 1970, and reached thirteen bowls. His teams beat Bear Bryant, his old college coach, exactly once in fifteen tries, which is the number that followed him. He is in the College Football Hall of Fame and the practice facility carries his name.
The Three Straight Champions
Nick Saban arrived from Michigan State in 2000, won the SEC in his second season and the national championship in his fourth, beating Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, then left for the Miami Dolphins. Les Miles replaced him and went 114 and 34 in twelve seasons, a .770 percentage that is the best of any LSU coach with a meaningful tenure, with the 2007 title and a 2011 team that went unbeaten until the championship game. He was fired four games into 2016.
Ed Orgeron took over as interim, kept the job, and in 2019 produced the 15 and 0 season that many consider the best team in the sport’s history. He was let go two years later after consecutive mediocre seasons. Our national championships page covers all four titles.
Brian Kelly, 2022 to 2025
Kelly left Notre Dame in November 2021 for a ten year, $100 million contract and the chance to win a title. He reached the SEC championship game in his first season, coached Heisman winner Jayden Daniels in his second, and was 23 and 3 in Tiger Stadium. He never made the playoff. After a 49 to 25 home loss to Texas A&M on October 25, 2025, in which the Aggies scored 35 unanswered second half points and won in Baton Rouge for the first time since 1994, LSU fired him the next morning at 5 and 3. The buyout was the largest in college football history.
Frank Wilson went 2 and 3 as interim, and the season ended 7 and 6 with a Texas Bowl loss to Houston.
Lane Kiffin
Kiffin was hired on December 1, 2025 after six seasons at Ole Miss, where he had built the most consistent program in the SEC outside Georgia and Alabama. He brought Charlie Weis in as offensive coordinator and quarterback Sam Leavitt from Arizona State through the portal. LSU opens 2026 against Clemson in Tiger Stadium and hosts Alabama, Texas and Texas A&M in what the school called the best home schedule in stadium history. The Week 3 trip to Oxford is the return to Ole Miss. Our 2026 schedule page has the full slate.
The Bottom Line
LSU has had four national championship coaches: Paul Dietzel in 1958 and then Saban, Miles and Orgeron in consecutive tenures. Charles McClendon won the most games and Miles won at the highest rate. Brian Kelly was fired mid season in 2025 with the sport’s largest buyout, and Lane Kiffin begins in September. Our most wins by a coach page has where Saban ranks nationally.