Written by Craig Stephenson at AL.com
Skip Bertman is no longer LSU’s athletic director, and thus will have no direct influence as to whom the Tigers will hire to replace the recently fired Les Miles.
But he still has his opinions on whom he would hire were he still in charge, and it wouldn’t be Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin. Bertman appeared on “Sports Today with Charles Hanagriff and Jimmy Ott” on ESPN Radio Baton Rouge Wednesday, and said Kiffin wouldn’t be a good choice for LSU.
“No, no, no, no,” Bertman said, when asked if he’d hire Kiffin. “I don’t like him. I don’t think he’s a fit for here. But he’s good, as an offensive coordinator. I feel that way, but I’ll go with whoever they pick.”
Kiffin was head coach at Tennessee in 2009 and at USC from 2010 until his firing midway through the 2013 season. He joined Alabama as offensive coordinator the following season, and his name has often come up when there are high-profile head-coaching openings at schools such as LSU.
So who will the Tigers hire? Bertman said he’s unsure, but he’s confident it will be a current head coach — Houston’s Tom Herman and Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher have been at the top of most lists — that LSU AD Joe Alleva ends up hiring.
“I have no idea of course,” said Bertman, LSU’s AD from 2001-08 and the Tigers’ baseball coach for 18 years before that. “Joe Alleva has said it — he’s going to hire a sitting head coach.”
Bertman was AD during Nick Saban’s tenure at LSU — which included a national championship in 2003 and ended in 2004 when Saban went to the NFL. He said there were never any discussions about bringing Saban back to LSU before Bertman retired in 2008. He added that he was never in communication even with Saban’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, regarding such a move.
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