The departure of Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss wasn’t exactly a smooth one. Then again, Kiffin has never made a quiet exit anywhere he’s been.
The new LSU head coach left Oxford for Baton Rouge in dramatic fashion, with plenty of disputes over what was true and what wasn’t. The major tension point between Kiffin and Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter reportedly centered on Kiffin’s desire to coach the Rebels through the playoff.
In a social media post sent on November 30, Kiffin wrote: “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.”
Several players pushed back, saying that wasn’t the message Kiffin gave them during their final meeting. Carter also disputed Kiffin’s account, saying the new LSU coach had said “a lot of things publicly that I’m not sure are totally accurate,” according to ESPN.
Now that the College Football Playoff field is set — with Ole Miss ranked No. 6 and hosting No. 11 Tulane — the Rebels will have most of their staff intact for the postseason, even if those assistants are technically now members of Kiffin’s LSU staff.
LSU Assistants Allowed to Coach Ole Miss During College Football Playoff
Kiffin reportedly told his staff shortly after accepting the LSU job that if they weren’t on the plane with him, they would not be part of his new program. Most joined him at LSU. But according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, five offensive assistants will return to coach Ole Miss during the College Football Playoff: OC Charlie Weis Jr., tight ends coach Joe Cox, wide receivers coach George McDonald, assistant quarterbacks coach Dane Stevens, and slot receivers coach Sawyer Jordan.
It’s a surprising decision on multiple fronts — from the assistants choosing to coach, and from Carter, who was adamant that Kiffin himself would not be allowed to remain through the playoff. Those five coaches will now work under defensive coordinator turned interim head coach Pete Golding.
Lane Kiffin Supports Staff Members, Ole Miss
Despite the messy ending, Kiffin didn’t hesitate to publicly back his former players and staff. On Dec. 9, he posted on X: “Go win it all!!!!”
For a coach who has never been shy about expressing his heat-seeking opinions online, his support of a team he is no longer leading — and a staff he insisted follow him immediately — is notable. The same assistants who now work for him at LSU will have a chance to chase a national title he wasn’t permitted to pursue, a twist that underscores just how unusual this breakup was, not to mention the entire state of college athletics.
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