Lane Kiffin Leaves Ole Miss for LSU

By Valerie Merkowitz

Former Ole Miss head football coach Lane Kiffin has controversially left Ole Miss to become the head football coach at rival Louisiana State University (LSU). Kiffin has a history of leaving teams in the dust. Kiffin agreed to a seven-year contract worth $91 million with the Tigers. This record sets him as one of the highest-paid coaches in college football, with an annual salary of $13 million.

Ole Miss is not the first program he has left controversially. The most controversial departure was when he left Tennessee to become the coach of the University of Southern California (USC) in 2010. He was fired from USC after three seasons of coaching. He was also the head coach of Florida Atlantic for three seasons after having his image repaired following his job as the offensive coordinator with Nick Saban at Alabama. After Florida Atlantic, he then became the head coach for Ole Miss. Now, he has left another program suddenly, which has led to more fans disliking Kiffin.

A week before the Egg Bowl versus Mississippi State, Kiffin met with Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter and chancellor Glenn Boyce, and pressure was tipping on both sides. They wanted Kiffin to make a decision on where he was going to be coaching next season after their last game. Both Carter and Boycer made it clear that if he decided to coach elsewhere that, he would not be the coach during the playoffs. Ole Miss decided to hire defensive coordinator Pete Golding as the next football coach.

The Rebels’ season has now come to an end, losing to Miami in the Fiesta Bowl 31-27. They beat Tulane in the first round 41-10 and Georgia in the quarter finals 39-34.