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...
Five-Star Target Speaks Out After Recruitment Takes Ugly Turn
Five-star running back David Gabriel Georges has found himself in the spotlight for reasons far beyond the usual recruiting buzz after his decision set off a wave of unwanted attention. The top-10 prospect released a statement asking for his choice to be respected and for false information about him and his family to stop circulating, a reminder of how quickly a major commitment can turn into a public mess when the noise around it gets out of hand.
For Ole Miss, it is another look at how hard it can be to land elite talent in a recruiting battle that also drew Ohio State into the mix. Georges still plans to finish his senior season at Baylor School before moving on, but for now the focus has shifted from where he will play next to the fallout that followed his announcement and the need to let the teenager and his family move forward without the extra baggage. [Read more 🡒]
Former Ole Miss Leader Just Twisted The Knife On His Way Out
TJ Dottery spent last season as one of Ole Miss most reliable defenders, leading the Rebels in tackles and starting every game during a run that carried all the way into the College Football Playoff. After the season ended, the linebacker made the move to LSU, following Lane Kiffin to Baton Rouge as part of a small group of former Rebels who made the same jump.
What makes Dotterys exit sting a little more is the way he framed it. He pointed to LSUs broader support system as a clear upgrade, citing the Tigers use of virtual reality work, extra hands to help with reps and better recovery resources. For Ole Miss, it is one more reminder that the post-Kiffin fallout is not just about coaching changes, but about players weighing what each program can offer once the dust settles. [Read more 🡒]