Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for LSU

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STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI - NOVEMBER 28: Head coach Lane Kiffin of the Mississippi Rebels looks on before the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium on November 28, 2025 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty

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Lane Kiffin is leaving Ole Miss for LSU, according to a statement he posted Sunday on his social media accounts.

Kiffin moving to LSU

What they're saying:

Kiffin said he is departing Oxford for Death Valley after a one-loss season — the only defeat coming against Georgia — and just two days after No. 6 Ole Miss beat Mississippi State 39–19 in the Egg Bowl, a win that all but guaranteed the Rebels a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Despite that likely CFP appearance, Kiffin said the Egg Bowl was his final game coaching the Rebels.

"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," Kiffin wrote, adding that he planned to maintain "guardrails in place to protect the program in any areas of concern."

Kiffin said Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter denied his request to remain on staff through the postseason, "despite the team asking him to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance."

Kiffin went 2–2 against LSU during his tenure in Oxford.

Kiffin’s coaching journey

The backstory:

Kiffin, son of the late, long-time NFL and college defensive coach Monte Kiffin, played quarterback in college at Fresno State. He got his first head-coaching job at any level in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders in 2007, but was fired just four games into his second season. 

He took his first college head-coaching job at Tennessee in 2009 and left after one season to take over at Southern California, where he was fired five games into his fourth season. He returned to coaching in 2017 with Florida Atlantic, spending three seasons there before Ole Miss lured him to Oxford in 2020. 

Kiffin has said he adopted the mantra of striving to "do things better than they’ve ever been done before," from one of his mentors, Pete Carroll, under whom Kiffin served as an assistant at USC from 2001 to 2006.

New Ole Miss Coach

What's next:

After a team meeting Sunday afternoon, defensive back TJ Banks and other players told reporters that defensive coordinator Pete Golding would serve as the new head coach, the AP reported. The University didn't immediately comment, though.