Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin departs for LSU, just as the Rebels look to make a deep playoff run after their most successful season in school history.
Talk about Lane Kiffin leaving a coaching job is nothing new to college football fans. It dates back to 2009 when he left Tennessee for Southern California (USC) after just one season. He was then fired from USC in 2013 in the middle of the season, ending his “dream job” tenure. Then in 2015 he left Alabama right before the national championship game.
Noise surrounding Kiffin’s future had been spiraling since late October. News really started catching fire when he visited LSU and Florida on November 16th. It was a striking sign of just how serious talks were getting between the two SEC schools pursuing him. LSU became the clear favorite to land Kiffin if he were to leave the University of Mississippi. They were willing to give him as much as $98 million over seven years. “I’ve got a lot of praying to do to figure out my future tomorrow” Kiffin said in an interview the night of November 28th.
Kiffin met with the Ole Miss directors as it became more apparent he was leaving the program for one of their biggest rivals. A meeting was scheduled with the team the morning of the 30th. Later that day, Kiffin officially announced his decision to leave Ole Miss with a statement posted on social media. Several players were said to be very upset following the decision and stated they felt betrayed.
During Kiffin’s time at Ole Miss, he transformed a mid tier SEC program to one of the best in all of college football. The Rebels went 54-19 while Kiffin was the head coach, winning ten or more games in four of the last five seasons. Only powerhouses, Alabama and Georgia had more success in those years.
Ole Miss officials decided against letting Kiffin continue coaching in the postseason. Making the decision that much more controversial. Kiffin wanted to lead the team following their historic run, but Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter refused to allow it. LSU on the other hand finds themselves at 7-5 and out of the playoffs.
Defensive coordinator Pete Golding is stepping up as the new head coach. Looking to cap off a season full of highs and lows, Ole Miss heads into playoffs as the number six seed and will host Tulane in the first round on December 20th.
