Lane Kiffin is not pretending the Ole Miss exit was clean.
A year after the whole thing blew up across the SEC, the LSU coach said Thursday at SEC Media Days in Tampa that he looks back on the move with regret. Kiffin had already accepted the LSU job for the 2026 season while Ole Miss was pushing toward the College Football Playoff, and the situation only got messier when he tried to keep coaching the Rebels anyway.
“Yeah, I do,” Lane Kiffin said on Thursday. “But I think that’s a good thing that I look at life that way now, instead of saying, ‘No, I don’t.
I was right.’ I look at things always now, like, how could I have done them better?
But it’s also easier when you’re further removed. There’s no emotion involved.”
Kiffin said he now believes he should have simply stepped away when Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter told him to walk away. Instead, the process dragged on and turned into a circus, with Ole Miss weighing coaching offers from LSU and Florida while the Rebels were coming off an 11-1 regular season and looking like a playoff team.
“I wish I would have gone in when I met with Keith and said, ‘I’ve made the decision to go,'” Kiffin said on Thursday. “I wish I would have just said, ‘Hey, I’d like to coach the team,’ and he’d say, ‘No.’
And I’d say, ‘Hey, OK, I appreciate it.’ (I wish I’d) move on (and) never even discussed it again.”
Even after taking the LSU job, Kiffin spent two days fighting Carter for the chance to coach Ole Miss in the Playoff. Looking back, he said he also talked through the situation with motivational speaker Kevin Elko, who told him he was “trying to do something impossible.”
Now, with the Ole Miss chapter behind him, Kiffin is focused on LSU and the 2026 season, with his attention on trying to get the Tigers to an SEC title.
In Other News...
Eli Drinkwitz Just Sent A Telling Message About Matt Zollers
Matt Zollers first season at Missouri was never supposed to unfold the way it did. Thrust into action as a true freshman because of injuries, he got valuable game reps and showed enough to keep the Tigers interested in what comes next, finishing with 503 passing yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 53.4% of his throws. In a room that has since added Austin Simmons and Nick Evers, the long view around the position is suddenly a lot more crowded, and a lot more interesting.
Eli Drinkwitzs latest comments only sharpened that picture. With Simmons now in line to lead the offense, Missouri still has a quarterback room built around competition and development, and Zollers decision to remain in the program matters because it keeps an experienced young arm in the mix. For a team trying to build stability at the most important spot on the field, the Tigers appear to have more than one reason to feel better about the future, even if the pecking order is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Nicholas Rodriguez Now Carries The Weight Of Mizzou's New Defense
Nicholas Rodriguez finished his sophomore season the way Missouri needed him to, with a strong late push capped by a 15-tackle outing in the Gator Bowl. Now the linebacker is stepping into a far bigger role as the Tigers rebuild on defense, with several key pieces gone to the NFL or the transfer portal and Rodriguez standing as the lone returning top linebacker.
Missouri has already put him in a leadership spot by naming him a captain for spring ball, a sign of how quickly the program is leaning on him. Rodriguez has embraced that responsibility while talking about wanting to set the tone for the group, and he enters the offseason as one of the most important figures in shaping how this new-look defense comes together. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Wrestling Just Landed A Major Recruiting Surprise Early
Missouri wrestling added an early jolt to its future plans with the signing of Everett Joyce, a standout from Maize High School who arrives with a decorated prep rsum. Joyce is a two-time Kansas state champion, the kind of credential that usually puts a recruit on the radar for a long time before he ever steps on campus, and his addition gives the Tigers another high-end piece to build around.
The move carries extra intrigue because Joyce is coming in sooner than originally expected, giving Missouri a chance to get him into the room ahead of schedule. His path has already included wins over several notable names in the national prep scene, and both Joyce and coach Smith framed the fit as one rooted in Tiger Style and long-term upside, with the program clearly believing the ceiling here is still climbing. [Read more 🡒]