The rampant rumor mill swirling around Lane Kiffin stopped turning on Sunday: Kiffin is officially bolting Ole Miss for LSU.
Kiffin took to social media to make it official.
An announcement was expected on Saturday, but a lengthy meeting with Ole Miss officials did not yield an agreement on the coach’s immediate plans. While it’s been reported that Kiffin verbally agreed to become LSU’s coach as early as last week, and that officials at Ole Miss were at least somewhat aware of this. Kiffin wanted to stay on with the Rebels to coach them through the playoffs.
This idea was a non-starter with Ole Miss officials, who were concerned that he would use that time to recruit for LSU and that any success he had in the playoffs would yield only recruiting gains for his new gig in Baton Rouge, not for his soon-to-be former team in Oxford.
The breakdown in that meeting led to a delayed announcement, as Kiffin reportedly worked behind the scenes to recruit as many of his offensive staff as possible to follow him to LSU, or risk being out of work.
According to a report from On3, Kiffin told his offensive coaching staff, if “they’re not on the plane with him to Baton Rouge on Sunday, that they won’t have a spot on LSU’s staff.”
“Kiffin was the Rebels’ head coach for six seasons,” Sports Illustrated reports. “In that time, the team went 55-19, finished in the top 15 three times, and had double-digit wins in four of his seasons. He also led Ole Miss to two New Year’s Six bowls, winning the Peach Bowl in 2023, and the Rebels likely will make their College Football Playoff debut this season with an 11-1 campaign.”
What the College Football Playoff (CFP) committee decides to do with Ole Miss remains to be seen.
With Kiffin and several prominent members of his offensive staff leaving, the committee could demote Ole Miss out of the top eight, meaning they would be on the road in the first week of the playoffs. Or, in another possible but unlikely scenario, they could exclude Ole Miss from the playoff altogether if they think the loss of Kiffin and his staff will make the Rebels significantly degraded.
There is precedent for that type of decision.
“In 2023, Florida State was excluded from the CFP despite posting an undefeated record after star quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a broken leg against North Alabama,” Breitbart Sports reports. “The committee believed that the Seminoles wouldn’t be nearly as good a football team without Travis. With Kiffin taking himself and other offensive coaches with him, it’s entirely possible the committee could reach a similar conclusion.”
In the interim, On3 reports that Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding will coach the Rebels in the College Football Playoff (CFP).
Kiffin’s deal with LSU is set to pay him at least $13 million per year, On3 reports.
