Lane Kiffin references the Tennessee Vols while explaining why he’s leaving Ole Miss for LSU
Lane Kiffin resigned as the Ole Miss head coach on Sunday to become the new head coach at LSU.
Lane Kiffin referenced the Tennessee Vols on Sunday in an interview with ESPN while explaining why he’s leaving the Ole Miss Rebels to replace Brian Kelly as the head coach of the LSU Tigers.
Kiffin, who was in his sixth season as the head coach at Ole Miss, officially accepted the LSU job on Sunday, following a chaotic saga that stretched out for several weeks.
The Rebels finished the regular season with an 11-1 record. They should be a lock to be included in the 12-team College Football Playoff, but Ole Miss is not going to allow Kiffin to coach the Rebels in the playoff.
ESPN’s Marty Smith interviewed Kiffin on Sunday about the decision to leave for LSU.
“This was really hard,” said Kiffin. “My heart was here. But I talked to some mentors — Coach (Pete) Carroll and Coach (Nick) Saban. And especially when Coach Carroll said, ‘Man, your dad would tell you to go and take the shot, you accomplished a lot here.’
“I always hated how we only gave one year to Tennessee and left. I really hated the feeling of that — even though it was an exciting year. But I think that we gave a lot to this (Ole Miss) program and to the city. And some of the most historic wins in this stadium that we’ve ever had. And the best regular season in the history of the school. So I feel proud of that part. But it just became time. I talked to God and [He] told me it’s time to take a new step. It’s a new chapter.”
Kiffin was the head coach at Tennessee in 2009. He left Knoxville after one season to become the head coach at USC, the program where he worked for six seasons as an assistant before landing his first head coaching gig with the Oakland Raiders in 2007.
By the way, Kiffin will return to Neyland Stadium for the first time since 2021 next season when LSU visits Rocky Top to take on Tennessee.
Tennessee Volunteers News
Lane Kiffin to LSU could lead to some instant bad news for the Tennessee Vols that would be devastating on Rocky Top
Lane Kiffin is reportedly heading to Baton Rouge to take over as the head coach of the LSU Tigers. Kiffin’s exit from Ole Miss has been messy say the least. But once the dust settles on this bizarre saga, LSU will have landed the most coveted coach in this year’s coaching cycle. And it could […]
