LSU’s ‘Best Job’ Status Hinges on Roster Spending, Says Nick Saban

Following a recent ranking that named LSU the best open head coaching job in college football, a broader question emerges: Is LSU the premier coaching position in the entire country?

“It’s in the top three, at the very least, no matter who you ask,” said Jacob Hester, a former All-SEC running back and captain on LSU’s 2007 national championship team. “If somebody says it’s not, then they’re lying.”

The debate, however, has been reshaped by the modern landscape of college athletics. Legendary coach Nick Saban, who won a national championship at LSU in 2003 before securing six more at Alabama, believes the criteria for a top job have fundamentally changed.

“What used to make a job great was facilities, fan support, good academic support, recruiting base and being able to create value for the players,” Saban told On3. “Now that has been minimized to how much money do you have to spend on building a roster. That is the most important thing by far.”

Saban’s arrival in Baton Rouge in 2000 marked a turning point for a program that had endured nine losing seasons in the previous 11 years. An FBS athletic director noted, “They just hadn’t figured out the institutional and political alignment at LSU until Saban got there… He got the ball rolling, and his handprints have remained on that program.”

Since Saban’s title run, LSU has cemented its elite status by winning two more national championships under two different coaches: Les Miles in 2007 and Ed Orgeron in 2019. This history of success under varied leadership underscores the program’s inherent strengths and the immense pressure to win. Current coach Brian Kelly, despite winning at least nine games in each of his full seasons and reaching the 2022 SEC Championship, has faced scrutiny for a 4-6 record in his last 10 conference games.

“It’s a place you can and should be able to win at the highest level every single year,” said one longtime coach with experience at LSU. “LSU gives you the best chance of any job in America to get the quality of player it takes to win a national championship.”

The program’s primary advantage is its unrivaled access to talent. As the only major football power in a state obsessed with the sport, LSU has a virtual monopoly on a rich recruiting ground. In 2024, Louisiana had the second-highest number of NFL players per capita.

“Almost all of those kids grow up wanting to go to LSU. There’s no in-state competition,” another coach observed. This is bolstered by the state’s strong high school coaching culture. “They coach them hard. You’re not getting a lot of soft players.”

The recruiting footprint extends well beyond state lines, encompassing the talent-rich I-10 corridor from Houston to Mississippi. Many of LSU’s most iconic players—from Tyrann Mathieu and Leonard Fournette to Ja’Marr Chase and Odell Beckham Jr.—were homegrown talents.

“There’s such a benefit in being the big dog in a state with this much talent,” Hester said. “The loyalty to LSU is so strong throughout Louisiana.”

This statewide investment extends to the highest levels of government. The vocal involvement of Louisiana’s governors in the football program, which some might view as a complication, is seen by others as a significant asset.

“A lot of schools would love to have a governor that invested in football,” an FBS athletic director said. “I think you can get more done at a place like LSU because it’s the flagship school.”

However, Saban cautions that in the new era of name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation, these traditional advantages are being challenged by sheer financial power. He points to Lane Kiffin’s success at Ole Miss as proof that the hierarchy of coaching jobs is in flux.

“Jobs that weren’t great jobs before are now,” Saban said, suggesting that a coach like Kiffin might have a better situation at Ole Miss if the financial backing for roster construction surpasses what’s available at traditional powerhouses. “You look at these jobs differently now… are they willing to invest what you have to invest now to win? Because a lot of people don’t believe in this.”

Saban, who reiterated he is not against player pay but is critical of the current system’s structure, worries about the direction of the sport. “We’re letting G League players come play in college?” he questioned, referencing recent trends in college basketball. “It’s crazy, absolutely crazy.”

This new financial reality makes any potential coaching move, such as one by Kiffin, far from a simple calculation. Kiffin himself has stated his focus remains solely on his current Ole Miss team, which is contending for its first playoff appearance.

While LSU reportedly spent around $18 million on its 2025 roster, that figure is still considered less than the amounts invested by programs like Texas, Ohio State, and Oregon. As the coaching carousel turns, the debate over which jobs are truly elite will continue. But according to Saban, the answer is becoming simpler.

“It gets down to not just who has the money… but who’s going to spend the money to get these players and how long are they willing to keep spending it,” he said. “That’s the truth of it, whether me or anybody else likes it.”



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