Lane Kiffin left his one-loss Ole Miss team to become the coach at LSU on Sunday, taking over a program that has won national titles under three of its previous four coaches while saying he would have stayed to coach the Rebels in the postseason had he been allowed to.
The move comes two days after No. 6 Mississippi’s victory over Mississippi State in the annual Egg Bowl rivalry game that all but guaranteed the Rebels a playoff berth when the bracket is announced Dec. 7.
“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,” Kiffin wrote in a social media post. He said Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter denied his request “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,” he added.
Mississippi promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to succeed Kiffin. A former college player at Delta State in Mississippi, Golding is in his third season on the Rebels’ staff after serving five years as a top defensive assistant at Alabama.
“Coach Kiffin and I met yesterday, and he informed us that he is accepting the head coaching position at another school,” Carter said. “For our program to begin preparing for its future – both the short and long term, he will be stepping away from the team immediately.”