Lane Kiffin is headed to Baton Rouge, but not before stirring up one last bit of drama on his way out of Oxford.
Kiffin, who accepted the LSU head coaching job, reportedly asked to stay on and coach Ole Miss through the College Football Playoff. That request?
Denied. Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter shut the door on the idea and moved quickly to name defensive coordinator Pete Golding as the Rebels’ new head coach.
It’s a bold move, but one that makes sense when you consider the stakes. The Rebels are on the brink of a CFP berth - a historic moment for the program - and Carter clearly wasn’t interested in letting a lame-duck coach steer the ship during the most important stretch of the season. Loyalty matters, especially when the margin for error is razor-thin.
Scott Van Pelt didn’t hold back in his reaction to the situation during a Sunday night segment with Rece Davis. His analogy? Let’s just say it hit home for a lot of fans.
“This is a divorce,” Van Pelt said. “If you are leaving me for one of our neighbors who I hate, but you tell me you want to stay through Christmas for the kids - I’m telling you to take your ass on down the road and we’ll figure out Christmas with who’s here.”
It’s a raw, honest take - and one that captures the emotional side of college football. Yes, it’s a business. But it’s also deeply personal for the players, coaches, and fans who ride the highs and lows every Saturday.
And for Ole Miss, this isn’t just about optics - it’s about setting the tone for what comes next. Enter Pete Golding.
This will be his first head coaching job, but he’s no stranger to big moments. Golding ran the Rebels’ defense under Kiffin from 2023 to 2025 and previously served as Alabama’s defensive coordinator from 2018 to 2022, including during the Crimson Tide’s 2020 national title run.
That kind of pedigree matters. Golding knows what championship-caliber preparation looks like, and now he gets a shot to lead a team that’s knocking on the door of the College Football Playoff.
Kiffin, meanwhile, was formally introduced as LSU’s head coach on Monday. It’s a major hire for the Tigers and a reunion of sorts between Kiffin and the SEC spotlight. But for Ole Miss, the page has turned - and fast.
The Rebels are rallying behind Golding as they prepare for what could be the biggest game in program history. And while the departure of a high-profile coach like Kiffin always stings, the timing of it - and the way it was handled - says a lot about where Ole Miss is headed.
They’re not looking back. They’re looking at the Playoff.