ESPN’s “College GameDay” is headed to Oxford for Lane Kiffin’s return.
The network’s college football pregame show announced a month early that it will broadcast from Ole Miss on Sept. 19, setting up the stage for that night’s game against LSU. It’s a rare early reveal for a show that usually waits until the Sunday or Monday before a visit to make the call.
This one was different. Kiffin’s first trip back to Oxford since leaving Ole Miss ahead of last season’s College Football Playoff run gave ESPN a built-in centerpiece for one of the sport’s biggest Saturdays of the year.
The matchup carries extra baggage because of how Kiffin’s departure unfolded. He had been linked to LSU for weeks, and the situation with Ole Miss administration stalled for days over his push to coach the Rebels through the CFP.
Ole Miss refused. Kiffin moved on, leaving the then-No.
7 Rebels before they went on to beat Tulane and Georgia and then fall to Miami in the Playoff semifinals.
He took over an LSU team that went 7-6 under Brian Kelly, who had been fired.
Kiffin’s coaching exits have a history all their own. Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis used an overhead projector to rip him in 2008 after firing him midseason.
The next year, Kiffin’s late-night departure from Tennessee to USC after one season sparked small riots and fires across campus. USC later fired him midseason in 2013 after a road loss and left him behind on the team bus from the Los Angeles International Airport to campus.
Nick Saban also changed offensive coordinators in the middle of the CFP in 2017 after deciding Kiffin was too conflicted between Alabama and Florida Atlantic, where he had just been hired as head coach.
This summer brought another sharp edge to the relationship with Ole Miss. In a “Vanity Fair” story, Kiffin pointed to the school’s racial history and said recruits’ grandparents wouldn’t let players attend Ole Miss, which he said wasn’t an issue at LSU.
The teams will enter the Sept. 19 meeting with early-season games already on the board. No.
11 LSU opens against Clemson on Sept. 5, while No. 9 Ole Miss faces No.
24 Louisville in Nashville a day later. Ole Miss then plays Charlotte in Week 2, and LSU gets Louisiana Tech before the two programs meet in Oxford.
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At LSU, though, the pull was about more than loyalty. Weis Jr. had an opportunity that came with a three-year contract reportedly worth $7.5 million, a figure that topped what Ole Miss was willing to put on the table. For LSU, it was another reminder of how aggressively the program can recruit proven coaching talent, and for Weis Jr. it was a chance to make a new move without leaving behind the influence that helped shape his career. [Read more 🡒]
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For LSU, the possibility matters because the position already features a blend of transfers and returning contributors, giving the staff real flexibility but also a crowded chart to sort through. Pyburn has not made an official decision, and any move will likely hinge on where his NFL opportunity leads, but his return would add another experienced body to a rotation that was already trending toward being a strength. [Read more 🡒]