Multiple Ole Miss players, AD claim Lane Kiffin hasn’t been honest following departure to LSU
Three Ole Miss football players and athletic director Keith Carter are claiming that new LSU coach Lane Kiffin has been less than honest when discussing his desire to continue coaching the Rebels through the College Football Playoff.
When Kiffin announced his departure for LSU Sunday in a statement, he made clear that he wanted to continue to coach the Rebels during the postseason and that Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter was responsible for standing in his way. He also claimed that members of the Ole Miss team had asked him to stay and coach the squad in the postseason.
“I was hoping to complete a historic six-season run with this year’s team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs, capitalizing on the team’s incredible success and their commitment to finish strong, and investing everything into a playoff run with guardrails in place to protect the program in any areas of concern,” Kiffin’s said in a statement. “My request to do so was denied by [Ole Miss athletic director] Keith Carter, despite the team also asking him to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance. Unfortunately, that means Friday’s Egg Bowl was my last game coaching the Rebels.”
On Tuesday, three Ole Miss players took to social media to reject Kiffin’s claim – offensive tackle Jayden Williams, offensive lineman Brycen Sanders and linebacker Suntarine Perkins.
Ole Miss’s AD responds
Carter appeared on “SuperTalk Mississippi” and said Kiffin already knew he wouldn’t be able to stay with the team if he accepted a gig elsewhere.
“Yeah, there’s been a lot of things that he’s said publicly that I’m not sure are totally accurate,” Carter said. “I think both coach and his representation both knew several weeks ago that coaching in the Playoff was not going to be an option if he was not going to be the Ole Miss head coach.”
Carter then said the only chance Kiffin had of coaching any postseason games for Ole Miss would have been the SEC Championship game if Alabama lost on Saturday, due to the short turnaround from the end of the regular season.
Ole Miss players respond
As far as Ole Miss players, Sanders was the first to call out the claim.
“I think everyone who was in that room would disagree,” Sanders posted on X.
Twenty-one minutes later, Perkins backed Sanders’ words.
“That was not the message you said in the meeting room,” Perkins posted. “Everybody who was in there can vouch for this.”
Eleven minutes after Perkins, Williams responded to Sanders.
“Let ‘em know!!” Williams posted. “Every single person!!”
Who will coach Ole Miss in the Playoff?
Charlie Weis Jr., Ole Miss’s former offensive coordinator who has joined Kiffin at LSU, has been allowed to return to the Rebels to lead the offense through the College Football Playoff.
“I wanted it to be known that after conversations with LSU, we are allowing Charlie to return to Ole Miss to coach the team during the playoffs,” Kiffin’s statement read. “I’ve already made the committee aware of this, and I’m hopeful this decision will allow Ole Miss to receive the highest ranking possible because these great players are very deserving of that. I’m excited that Charlie will be back to help coach the greatest team in the history of Ole Miss.”
Pete Golding was quickly named the new Ole Miss football coach after Kiffin was officially announced as LSU’s new coach. Golding was Ole Miss’s defensive coordinator under Kiffin.
