LSU head coach Lane Kiffin stole the headlines last year as he was linked with several elite vacant jobs in college football during the height of the coaching carousel that gripped the sport toward the end of the season. Kiffin ultimately snubbed the Florida Gators in favor of a move to Baton Rouge with the Tigers.
Kiffin’s departure from Oxford was far from smooth, as he was barred from coaching the Ole Miss Rebels in the College Football Playoff after mounting a historic regular season (11-1).
Lane Kiffin Responds to Pete Golding’s Comments
Defensive coordinator Pete Golding was immediately elevated to head coach after Kiffin’s abrupt departure as the former Rebels coach poached a handful of his staff to populate his new LSU coaching team.
During Monday’s segment of the “Always College Football Show,” Golding revealed the minute-by-minute details of Kiffin’s departure from Ole Miss and how he was elevated to head coach by athletic director Keith Carter.
“Obviously, the Egg Bowl was that Friday,” Golding said. “I rode back with Kiff. I still couldn’t get a real feel. I was with him the whole time and it was like ‘Tuesday, I’m going to Florida. Wednesday, I’m going to LSU. Thursday, I’m staying.’ I still couldn’t have a real feel.
“Saturday night, I got the first call from Carter saying, ‘Kiff has decided to go elsewhere. Let’s meet at 7:30.’ It got real at about 12:20 that day. They called me back over, the chancellor and Keith, and said, ‘Hey, we really want you to do this. We think it’s the right time. We think you’re the right guy.’”
Kiffin responded to the clip of Golding’s revelation about his polarizing departure from Ole Miss on X with a simple caption:
“Well done guys,” Kiffin posted.
After Kiffin’s acrimonious departure from Ole Miss, he allowed a few former staff members, including offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., to return to Oxford to help lead the Rebels through their College Football Playoff journey.
Under Golding’s guidance, the Rebels defeated the Tulane Green Wave in the first round of the playoffs before upsetting the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. Ultimately, Ole Miss’s historic season ended after the Miami Hurricanes edged a thrilling Fiesta Bowl 31-27.
In a highly anticipated matchup, Kiffin is poised to return to Oxford with LSU on Sept. 19 in one of the biggest clashes in the 2026 football calendar, pitting the former coach against his former assistant in what promises to be a raucous Vaught-Hemingway atmosphere.
