FAULK ERA BEGINS AT SOUTHERN
NFL Hall of Famer says ‘it means the world to me to be here’ 1C
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‘THE BEST JOB IN FOOTBALL’ New coach Kiffin praises opportunity to win at LSU
Landry intervenes in House leadership election Republicans prepare to pick caucus chair
BY TYLER BRIDGES
Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
New LSU football coach Lane Kiffin answers questions at an introductory news conference on Monday at Tiger Stadium.
INSIDE
BY WILSON ALEXANDER
Staff writer
As LSU courted Lane Kiffin, athletic director Verge Ausberry sent him a message. Ole Miss had been jumped by Oregon in the College Football Playoff rankings even though it had not played a game, and Ausberry wanted to tease him a little bit. What he said also encapsulated the way LSU sold Kiffin on the job. “Teams don’t jump LSU,” Ausberry said. Kiffin was introduced as LSU’s head coach Monday afternoon inside the club suites overlooking Tiger Stadium, a day after he left an Ole Miss team on the cusp of hosting a first-round game. He is the first head coach to leave a playoff-bound team, and Kiffin felt torn. At one point, he said the only way to describe the decisionmaking process was that “it sucked.” But Kiffin did leave, taking over a team that went 7-5 this year while he led Ole Miss to its first 11-win regular season in
ä Scott Rabalais: Kiffin says previous success and failures made him ready to ‘go for it’ at LSU. Page 1C ä Kiffin talks about the role Nick Saban had in his decision to come to LSU. Page 1C ä Kiffin won’t coach LSU in their upcoming bowl game. Page 5C ä LSU hires offensive coordinator, five other assistants from Kiffin’s staff at Ole Miss. Page 5C school history. Kiffin saw LSU as one of the premier jobs in college football, a place where he could finally win his first national championship. Kiffin has taken other desirable jobs before, especially at Southern Cal, but he felt ready at 50 years old to make a move that he hopes will define his career. “Somebody very close to me reminded me this week that LSU is the best job in
football,” Kiffin said. That person may have been Pete Carroll or Nick Saban. Kiffin talked to both of them, looking for advice about what he should do. Though he did not say it explicitly, he suggested Saban told him to take the LSU job, saying, “I respect him, so there’s a reason I’m here.” Carroll told him that Kiffin’s late father, Monte, would have advised him to go. “I felt like everybody that I talked to outside of the state that I was in all basically said the same thing,” Kiffin said. “They all said, ‘Man, you are going to regret it if you don’t take the shot and you don’t go to LSU. It’s the best job in America with the best resources to win it.’ ” There was mutual interest from the beginning. LSU put together a list of names after the Oct. 26 firing of Brian Kelly, and Ausberry said administrators “performed due diligence on several other candidates.” Sources said Missouri coach
ä See KIFFIN, page 4A
The election to choose the next chair of the Louisiana House Republican Caucus, normally a littlenoticed piece of inside baseball, is roiling the ranks of the 73-member Republican delegation. That’s because Gov. Jeff Landry, in an unprecedented move, is telling lawmakers he wants them to select Rep. Michael Echols, RMonroe, instead of Rep. John Illg, R-Metairie. Numerous House members said Landry’s support for Echols stems from his anger at Illg for taking a stand against the governor’s big- Echols gest priority during the 2025 legislative session, a measure that will give Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple more power to reject car insurance rate Illg increases. The bill would allow Landry to blame Temple if insurance rates continue to rise. Landry has already sought retribution against Republicans who opposed him on that measure. As The Advocate | The TimesPicayune reported in July, 16 of the 17 line-item vetoes issued by Landry killed spending projects sponsored by Republicans who had voted against him on the bill, including Illg. With nearly half of Republican House members voting against the bill at one point, the defection represented their biggest opposition to the governor. House members and political analysts said they believe Landry also favors Echols because he is more likely to focus on shoring up the governor’s support among
ä See LANDRY, page 5A
White House says follow-up strike on drug boat was lawful BY AAMER MADHANI and REGINA GARCIA CANO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The White House said Monday that a Navy admiral acted “within his authority and the law” when he ordered a second, follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea in a September U.S. military operation that has come under bipartisan scrutiny. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered the justification for the Sept. 2 strike as lawmakers announced there will be congressional review of the U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in
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the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean. The lawmakers cited a published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for a second strike that killed survivors on the boat. Navy Vice Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who Leavitt said ordered the second strike, is expected to provide a classified briefing Thursday to lawmakers overseeing the military. Leavitt in her comments to reporters did not dispute a Washington Post report that there were survivors after the initial strike. Her explanation came after President Donald Trump a day earlier said he “wouldn’t have wanted that — not a second strike” when asked
about the incident. “Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes,” said Leavitt. “Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.” Late Monday, Hegseth posted: “Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made — on the September 2 mission and all others since.”
ä See STRIKE, page 4A
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVAN VUCCI
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a news briefing at the White House on Monday.
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101ST yEAR, NO. 155