The Lane Kiffin coaching drama has finally come to an end.
Kiffin, after weeks of speculation and rumors surrounding his tenure with the Ole Miss Rebels, has decided to move along to another SEC school.
Lane Kiffin Heads Out To LSU
On Sunday, Kiffin and Ole Miss announced that he’s going to become the new head coach at LSU, taking over after Brian Kelly was let go during the 2025 college football season. The Tigers wanted to land a big-name coach to take Kelly’s place. It’s not a stretch to say that they did so with Kiffin.
Kiffin made the official announcement himself in a post on X. Kiffin also indicates in his post that he asked Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter if he could continue to coach the team. Carter denied that request, according to Kiffin.
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) November 30, 2025
While nothing is official, a report posted on X from ESPN College Football Writer Pete Thamel, who spoke with an Ole Miss official, indicates that “defensive coordinator Pete Golding is expected to be the school’s ‘permanent’ head coach. ‘It’s 100-percent permanent,’ the source said.”
In moving over from Mississippi to Baton Rouge, La., Kiffin moves into a program that has deep financial pockets and a history of recruiting top players from across the United States. Ole Miss fans probably have been expecting this move to take place. Well, their answer to the question, “Will Lane stay or will he go?” is now answered.
According to the PFSN CFB Offense Impact metrics, before Ole Miss’ game against Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Friday, the Rebels’ offense had an impact score of 86.8 and graded out to a B. They’ve averaged 305.1 yards passing per game and 188.7 yards rushing per game.
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Heading into Ole Miss’ game against Mississippi State, Kiffin had previous coaching stops in both college football and the NFL. Between 2001-06, Kiffin was on former USC head coach Pete Carroll’s staff with the Trojans.
In 2007, Kiffin became the head coach of the then-Oakland Raiders, where he led the team to a 4-12 record. After getting off to a 1-4 start in the 2008 season, late Raiders owner Al Davis fired Kiffin after Week 4.
Kiffin then drifted back to the college ranks. Back in 2009, Kiffin coached the Tennessee Volunteers, where he went 7-6 in his one season in Knoxville, Tenn., and led Tennessee to a loss in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
Kiffin returned to Southern California for a four-season stint as USC’s head coach. Kiffin posted a 28-15 record for the Trojans, even getting USC into an Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll No. 1 spot in 2012. But that season ended with a 7-6 record and a loss at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
After the USC job ended, Kiffin joined former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban’s coaching staff as his offensive coordinator. That job ran from 2014 until 2016, when Kiffin left to become head coach at Florida Atlantic. Between 2017-19, Kiffin led the team to two 11-3 seasons and two victories in the Boca Raton Bowl.
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Kiffin then went to Ole Miss in 2020, where he’s been ever since. In five seasons while leading the Rebels, Kiffin coached the team to four double-digit win seasons. He’s suffered losses in the Sugar Bowl and Texas Bowl, but wins in the Peach Bowl and Gator Bowl for Ole Miss.
Kiffin holds a 55-19 record as the Rebels’ head coach and helped establish himself as a major player in the college football coaching ranks. Additionally, in five of his six seasons with Ole Miss, he’s gotten the team in the AP Top 25 poll.
Entering Friday’s Egg Bowl, the Rebels were positioned at No. 7 in the College Football Playoff Rankings, getting bumped down one spot by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. A lot of Ole Miss fans have blamed Kiffin’s ongoing coaching drama as a main reason that the school might miss out on hosting a College Football Playoff home game.
Now, Kiffin leaves Ole Miss for a high-profile job with the Tigers.
