Former Ole Miss player at NFL Combine repeats amusing but likely reason why Lane Kiffin wanted to get on the Sugar Bowl broadcast
It’s clear there’s no love lost between Ole Miss and their former head coach.
There’s no love lost between Ole Miss, their players, and their former head coach Lane Kiffin. That’s apparent when you hear former players talk about him, even months after the awkward split between the two sides.
And in case you wondered if former Ole Miss players heading off to the NFL have moved past the issue, well, not completely it sounds like.
Ole Miss DT Zxavian Harris is currently among numerous Rebels attending the 2026 NFL Combine in Indianapolis. On Wednesday, he met with the media, and in response to a question, he mentioned Kiffin wanting to be in the broadcast booth for the Sugar Bowl, and Harris believes his underlying motivation was to do what Kiffin does best: troll.
Ole Miss DT Zxavian Harris says that Lane Kiffin was trying to get on the Sugar Bowl broadcast just to troll
“The week before we played, they were telling me that he was trying to be on the top booth, trying to, like, announce it, and knowing him, me knowing Kiffin since my freshman year, like, he’s just trying to troll, for real. That’s how him and the internet works.”
It’s not the first time that Harris has talked about Kiffin wanting to troll the Rebels on the Sugar Bowl national broadcast, as he brought it up in the wake of the Rebels’ 39-34 win over the Georgia Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal round. Harris was a bit spicier back on New Year’s Day, but his message about Kiffin being a troll was still the same.
““That’s what Kiffin tried to do. He tried to be a damn announcer,” Harris told On3 Sports’ Chris Low after the game. “Trying to be a troll. We were going to troll him. We got something for him,” Harris said. “He was just trying to steal our shine. That’s all he tried to do.
“That’s all he’s been trying to do, is steal our shine.”
Ole Miss certainly proved themselves to be able to succeed and play well without Kiffin, topping the Bulldogs in one of the most exciting games of the entire season. And they were a play away from advancing to the national championship game, losing by a whisker to the Miami Hurricanes.
The Rebels and Kiffin’s LSU Tigers will be appointment television for years to come. And if Harris is to be believed, the hard feelings won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
