The Ole Miss football team’s historic season will continue without head coach Lane Kiffin on the sidelines. According to a Sunday afternoon announcement by Kiffin, the Rebel frontman’s time in Oxford has come to an end as Kiffin is pursuing a new venture at LSU.
No. 7 Ole Miss capped off its first-ever 11-win regular season on Friday after defeating Mississippi State 38-19 in the annual Egg Bowl and is, in all likelihood, a lock to appear in the College Football Playoff for the first time ever. Yet, the focus around the team has not been on its accomplishments, but on a lingering, weeks-long decision by Kiffin to remain at the helm or take up prospective offers from LSU or Florida.
After a lengthy meeting with Athletics Director Keith Carter and Chancellor Glenn Boyce on Saturday, anxious fanbases were given more clarity on Sunday. On LSU’s end, Tiger faithful were told they were getting a new coach to replace Brian Kelly. On Ole Miss’ end, Rebel fans were informed of the end of a rollercoaster of a six-year stint with Kiffin conducting the “Lane Train.”
Ross Dellenger with Yahoo Sports reported that LSU executives and agency representatives for Kiffin solidified an agreement with travel plans, including the university sending a pair of planes to Oxford on Sunday to pick up the coach, his family, and others, potentially assistants who would follow him. ESPN’s Marty Smith, who was on the Ole Miss campus all day Saturday, on the other hand, was told by Kiffin himself that the reports of planes picking up his family were false.
However, this was not the first time the Kiffin family had been linked to flights to other SEC cities. It wasn’t but one week ago that the family was courted by Florida and LSU representatives, respectively, on visits to Gainesville and Baton Rouge to scope the landscape for a possible move. While there appeared to be smoke that the Gators once had momentum in the Kiffin sweepstakes after firing Billy Napier, it later became clear that there was a frontrunner in the outside race for the Ole Miss frontman.
On Friday, before the Egg Bowl, Florida administrators had reportedly bowed out of the fight for Kiffin, leaving Ole Miss and LSU as the two viable options. Kiffin, weighing in on his decision, disclosed multiple times that money was not the driving force behind his impending decision, though he reportedly had lucrative offers from all interested parties, including multi-million-dollar guarantees for name, image, and likeness funding and revenue sharing.
In a crowded press conference after the Egg Bowl win, Kiffin was asked if he had decided where he would be next year. He did not have an answer and said he needed time to pray and reflect, also adding that, in his late father’s absence, he would lean on advice from mentors in Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll and decorated former Alabama frontman Nick Saban. He later noted that he felt like he had to make up his mind on Saturday, with signing day approaching and the transfer portal opening soon.
That decision appeared to be made Saturday night, per Chris Low with On3, who reported that Kiffin intended to be at LSU for the 2026 season. Holdups are believed to have hinged on the Rebels potentially appearing in the SEC Championship, which was laid to rest when Alabama defeated Auburn in the Iron Bowl, and whether Kiffin would be allowed to coach in the College Football Playoff without signing his Ole Miss extension.
Sources told SuperTalk Mississippi News that Kiffin wanted to finish what he started with this team, but that Ole Miss administrators were not willing to allow him to continue operating in his head coaching capacity after taking a job with a rival — one the Rebels will face every season as a permanent conference opponent.
“After a lot of prayer and time spent with family, I made the difficult decision to accept the head coaching position at LSU,” Kiffin said. “I was hoping to complete a historic six-season run with this year’s team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs, capitalizing on the team’s incredible success and their commitment to finish strong, and investing everything into a playoff run with guardrails in place to protect the program in any areas of concern.”
“My request to do so was denied by Keith Carter despite the team also asking him to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance. Unfortunately, that means Friday’s Egg Bowl was my last game coaching the Rebels,” Kiffin said, blaming Ole Miss administrators for the nature of his departure.
“While I am looking forward to a new start with a unique opportunity at LSU, I will forever cherish the incredible six years I spent at Ole Miss and will be rooting hard for the team to complete their mission and bring a championship to Oxford.”
According to ESPN, Kiffin’s offer from LSU is around $12 million per year, with bonuses, over seven years. Ole Miss, in the meantime, has promoted Pete Golding to replace Kiffin, not as an interim, but as the permanent head man. Golding and Carter are reportedly working to keep a lion’s share of the current Ole Miss staff intact.
The Rebels are still anticipated to be among the 12-team field competing for a national title come late December. At 11-1, with the one loss coming to a top-five Georgia squad, Ole Miss has almost assuredly rubberstamped a College Football Playoff appearance. But the team has also dropped two spots in the rankings without losing a game, and there are concerns that Kiffin not being allowed to coach could jeopardize playoff seeding for Ole Miss.
Kiffin’s farewell to Ole Miss has not been well-received by the Rebel fanbase, given that he is leaving a team with the potential to win a national championship to join one of the program’s most despised foes. Offers from Ole Miss to keep him were reportedly been on par with LSU’s, and Kiffin has had a proven track record of success in Oxford, leaving many wondering why he even considered a departure.
In his six seasons at Ole Miss, Kiffin compiled a 55-19 overall record, with the only two 11-win campaigns in school history, and a pair of New Year’s Six bowl appearances. He has also produced multiple NFL talents over the years, highlighted by quarterback Jaxson Dart and defensive tackle Walter Nolen being first-round draft selections.
This year, former Division II quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has been a pleasant surprise, especially after the season’s starter, Austin Simmons, suffered an ankle injury during a week-two battle at Kentucky. Chambliss has emerged as one of the nation’s top dual-threat field generals. Meanwhile, Missouri transfer Kewan Lacy has been nominated as the program’s first Doak Walker Award finalist, logging nearly 1,300 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground.
During his time at Ole Miss, Kiffin has publicly contended that he needed Oxford more than it needed him. The coach, as documented by this E60 special “The Many Lives of Lane Kiffin,” had his career revamped at Ole Miss following many chaotic endings to stops at other programs, notably Tennessee, USC, and the then-Oakland Raiders.
In hindsight, the documentary, which was released in September of this year, appeared to be a dog whistle from Kiffin that he had matured both personally and professionally and was ready to take over a “blue blood” program. Unprovoked jabs at various Ole Miss home crowds and some of his notorious trolling on social media also seemed to indicate that he could soon be seeking a change of scenery. Now, it is evident that he was ready to move on.
A chunk of Ole Miss players, on the other hand, were reportedly enthusiastic about Golding’s promotion. Ole Miss will begin a new era — one likely in the College Football Playoff, barring a decision by the committee to exclude a Kiffin-less team from title contention.