Lane Kiffin’s high-profile jump from Ole Miss to LSU has stirred up plenty of emotion across the college football landscape - and not all of it’s positive. Among those weighing in is Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher, who didn’t hold back during Sunday’s NFL Today broadcast, calling out the way Kiffin handled his exit.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t about a coach taking a better job. That happens all the time in college football.
It’s the how - not the what - that has people talking. Kiffin reportedly asked to stay on and coach Ole Miss through its College Football Playoff run, even after accepting the LSU job.
According to multiple reports, he also gave his Ole Miss assistants an ultimatum: join him in Baton Rouge immediately or risk being left behind.
That didn’t sit well with Cowher, who questioned the very idea of Kiffin sticking around after committing to a rival SEC program.
“Why would an AD let a coach - who made a decision that he wanted to go to LSU and not stay at Ole Miss - coach my players and use my coaches and tell them for the next month why they should be joining him at LSU?” Cowher said.
“Totally understand. I would just say, ‘Thank you Lane, and goodbye.’”
It’s a fair point. From a program stability standpoint, letting a departing coach hang around - especially one headed to a direct competitor - opens the door to all kinds of complications. Recruiting battles, locker room distractions, assistant coaches torn between loyalty and opportunity - it's a recipe for chaos during the most critical stretch of the season.
Cowher didn’t stop there. He had a message for any player considering playing for Kiffin in the future: know what you’re signing up for.
“Just understand one thing: it’s not about the program, it’s about Lane Kiffin,” Cowher said. “Because he doesn’t care about the players that he just went through a season with - a special season. Players he’s had for four years with an opportunity to go to the playoffs.”
That’s the heart of the criticism. Kiffin’s decision didn’t just impact a university or a coaching staff - it hit a locker room full of players who were chasing a dream.
For some, this was their only shot at a College Football Playoff run. And now, they’re navigating that moment without the coach who helped get them there - and possibly without key assistants, too.
Cowher wasn’t against the idea of Kiffin moving on. In fact, he acknowledged that coaches have the right to pursue new opportunities. But he took issue with the way Kiffin handled the transition - particularly the ripple effects left behind at Ole Miss.
“If you go, then go and wish them nothing but the best,” Cowher said. “Don’t disrupt that program.
Don’t take any of those coaches. Let them stay there and let them finish the job that you left because you didn’t want to finish it.”
It’s a sentiment that resonates with fans and alumni alike. College football programs are built on more than just one man.
It’s the assistants grinding film late into the night. It’s the training staff, the support staff, the boosters who poured into NIL deals, and the players who bought into a vision.
When a head coach bolts and takes key pieces with him, it doesn’t just change the future - it shakes the foundation.
“A football program is not just about the head coach,” Cowher added. “It’s about the assistants.
It’s about the organization. It’s about everybody else - administrative staff that sat there and supported you all those years, all those alumni that sat there gave you money for NIL.
It’s about them too. You’ve left them.”
There’s no denying Kiffin’s ability as a coach. His offenses have lit up scoreboards from the SEC to the Pac-12.
But as Cowher made clear, leadership isn’t just about calling plays or recruiting five-star talent. It’s about how you leave a place - and who you leave behind.
In the high-stakes world of college football, exits matter just as much as entrances. And this one? It’s going to leave a mark.