GDW analyzes Lane Kiffin's move from Ole Miss to LSU:
Kiffin is rolling the dice for his over inflated ego in the game of football:
Flash Thoughts:
OXFORD, Mississippi: Lane Kiffin is entitled to what he feels is the best for him.
Many of us including yours truly will consider Kiffin to never be satisfied and all of a sudden, be annoying in his profession.
His annoyance may not be up to the high energized standards currently of Sydney Sweeney, Taylor Swift, Elon Musk, but in the game of college football, he stands alone.
Kiffin is leaving Ole Miss after building the Rebels to a respectable level in 6 years with 55 wins, 19 losses, three consecutive double digit winning campaigns.
His destination is Southwest of Oxford, Mississippi and very much a rival to Ole Miss and other SEC schools nearby.
Kiffin is going to LSU.
His time with the Rebels is officially over.
Ole Miss went 11 & 1 this season, 7 & 1 in the SEC, the best record under Kiffin for one year.
The administration made it perfectly clear that Kiffin will not continue his coaching duties with Ole Miss for it does create an uncomfortable environment after Kiffin decided to take a huge chance in the coaching carousel.
The Flash Facts:
Kiffin is a winning CFB coach, not a championship coach.
Ole Miss could not run the table in 2025 of going undefeated in the SEC as Georgia made its point against Kiffin and the Rebels in Athens October 18.
Kiffin did get the Rebels to recover and win their last five games including a victory at Oklahoma.
Ole Miss played good football on "Black Friday" by whipping Mississippi State 38 to 19 in Starkville.
Ole Miss is currently 6th in the latest rankings. The new release of the CFB playoff will be announced Tuesday.
The Rebels will look to be playing at Vaught/Hemmingway Stadium the weekend of December 19 in the first round of the playoffs.
Ole Miss is reporting that defensive coordinator Pete Golding will be named the interim coach for the Rebels.
The administration reported they don't want Kiffin around current Ole Miss players when the NCAA transfer portal opens up its next segment January 2.
What can and will Kiffin do in his first season in Baton Rouge?
LSU imploded this season, dropping to 7 & 5 as they lost three of their last four SEC games, getting blown off Tiger Stadium by Texas A&M on October 25 that led LSU officials to fire Brian Kelly the following day.
Kiffin has tremendous skills on the sideline. But in the SEC, no conference title, no division title.
The 2026 schedule for LSU in conference play has the Tigers at home vs. Alabama, Mississippi State, Texas and Texas A&M.
Kiffin will have the Tigers going to Auburn, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ole Miss. The conference dates will be announced at a later time.
While at Ole Miss, Kiffin went 4 & 2 in bowl games. The Rebels lost in 2021 and 2022 to Baylor in the Sugar Bowl and Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl.
For the fact that Kiffin will be a head coach at a 3rd school in the SEC, there is doubt on longevity, even though the last 6 years he has be on firm ground in Oxford.
Lane Kiffin can now have his popcorn and hope he can wave that magical wand or forever to be known as "Pretty Boy" by yours truly and not a national championship coach like Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron who earned this honor while at LSU.
Photo of Lane Kiffin, courtesy of Ole Miss football.
