The strangest saga of the college football season is finally over.
Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin will take on the same job with the LSU Tigers, he announced Sunday, leaving the seventh-ranked team in the nation for its conference rival.
“After much prayer and time spent with family, I made the difficult decision to accept the head coaching position at LSU,” Kiffin wrote in a social media post.
The Tigers job became available after the school fired Brian Kelly in October. Kiffin immediately became the most rumored name to take over, even though the Rebels were in the midst of a playoff run.
Ole Miss reportedly gave Kiffin an ultimatum to make his decision this weekend, although the coach denied the report. One of the reasons for Kiffin’s delayed decision was his desire to coach the Rebels until the end of the season.
“I looked forward to completing 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 commitment to finishing strong, and investing everything in a playoff run with barriers to protect the program in any areas of concern,” Kiffin said in his statement. “Keith Carter rejected my request even though the team also asked him to allow me to continue training them so they could better maintain their high level of performance.”
Kiffin, 50, has been no stranger to controversy during his coaching career.
In 2008, he was fired after just over one season with the NFL’s then-Oakland Raiders, with then-team owner Al Davis calling Kiffin a “flat-out liar.”
In 2010, after just one season as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, Kiffin left the program to take the top job with the USC Trojans.
In 2013, less than four seasons into his tenure with the Trojans, Kiffin was fired on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport after posting a 28-15 record in 43 games.
However, Kiffin found sustained success with Ole Miss. Throughout this season, he led the team to a 55-19 record, including a top-10 finish in 2023 and three bowl victories.
Rebels defensive coordinator Pete Golding has been named the team’s new head coach, according to multiple reports.
