The dust is yet to settle on new LSU coach Lane Kiffin’s messy exit from Ole Miss, just as the No. 6 Rebels are on the verge of playing in the College Football Playoff. Kiffin revealed in his exit message that he asked to be allowed to coach in the playoff, but that Rebels athletic director Keith Carter denied his request.
Analyst Predicts Lane Kiffin Credibility Issue at LSU
During Tuesday’s segment of the “Joel Klatt Show,” Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt predicted that Kiffin would have a credibility problem at LSU due to the manner of his exit from Ole Miss, just before the showcase event, which, according to PFSN’s College Football Playoff Meter, the Rebels are 100% guaranteed to be included in.
“He has the right to move. That movement and decision has consequences. I think he’s going to struggle with credibility at LSU in front of players,” Klatt said. “How do you get players to buy in if you’re going to leave a team in the lurch like he’s doing to Ole Miss? I do not believe he has to go to LSU to win a national championship.
“That’s a fallacy based on the reality of what’s going on in college football right currently, which is that you can build a powerhouse pretty much anywhere with the right resources. His best chance to win a national championship is right in front of him. He’s leaving a team in the middle of a playoff run. That’s a tough look.”
During his introductory news conference in Baton Rouge, Kiffin blamed his acrimonious exit on the convoluted college football calendar, which forced him to abandon Ole Miss after their first 11-win season in program history.
Ole Miss Players Refute Kiffin’s Playoff Claims
Despite Kiffin revealing that Ole Miss players were in favor of his coaching the team during the College Football Playoff, several Rebels players have since publicly refuted the claim on X. Offensive lineman Brycen Sanders was the first to quote-tweet Kiffin’s exit message, dismissing the new LSU coach’s allegations.
“”Despite the team asking me to keep coaching”. I think everyone that was in that room would disagree,” Sanders tweeted.
Ole Miss linebacker Suntarine Perkins also waded into the controversy by calling out his former coach on X.
“That was not the message you said in the meeting room. Everybody that was in there can vouch on this,” Perkins tweeted.
In his extensive coaching career, Kiffin has not yet won a Power 5 conference championship or coached in the College Football Playoff. His exits as coach of the Oakland Raiders (now Las Vegas Raiders), Tennessee Volunteers, USC Trojans, and Alabama Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator have all been controversial to say the least.