The job of a college coach is one of the most prestigious and highly paid positions in any University football program. Lane Kiffin, former head coach of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), was the highest-paid public employee in the state of Mississippi. Kiffin made $9 million a year, and most fans would say he earned it. He has a lifetime record of 116-53, without a single losing season through 16 seasons. Ole Miss ran through the Southeast Conference in 2025, compiling an 11-1 record for the first time in team history, the sole loss coming to No. 9 Georgia in October, another 11-1 team.
Note above that Kiffin was referred to as the former head coach of Ole Miss football. Kiffin chose to jump ship and take a job at in-conference rival Louisiana State University (LSU), coaching the Tigers. Not only did Kiffin abandon his team with only a week left in the regular season, but he also did so to move to the Rebels’ fiercest conference rival and took all but one of his offensive coaches with him.
This has put Ole Miss, a team experiencing unprecedented success, in an untenable position. Traditionally, a coordinator is promoted when a new head coach is needed, a process complicated by the loss of nearly the entire offensive coaching staff. In addition, several recruits decommitted from Ole Miss and flipped to LSU to follow Kiffin.
By doing this, Lane Kiffin has chosen himself over his team, torpedoing a team with the best chance to win their first title since 1962. He branded leaving Ole Miss as a “difficult decision.” I would love to make a difficult decision where I have a choice between making $4 million a year and $13 million a year. Kiffin burned every bridge on his way out, blaming Ole Miss administration for denying him the opportunity to coach through the playoffs. Who can blame Ole Miss? Why would the school let Kiffin stay on the job while actively recruiting and working for their fiercest rival? In reality, according to multiple reports, Kiffin offered Ole Miss an ultimatum: let him coach through the college football playoff, or he would poach the entire offensive coaching staff and many of the Rebels players.
This has been a pattern with Kiffin, who had messy exits with the University of Southern California and the University of Tennessee, but not every coaching exit is as disastrous as Kiffin leaving Ole Miss. Head coach of James Madison University, Bob Chesney, was announced as head coach of the University of California, Los Angeles. Chesney’s move is a much more understandable choice; it’s a clear upgrade, UCLA and JMU are not direct rivals, and there wasn’t much of a threat that Chesney would poach players from his old job.
Kiffin has rightly earned his reputation, even being bestowed the melodramatic title of “villain” of college football, according to The Athletic. I can only imagine that LSU’s return to Oxford, Miss., in 2026 will be a must-watch after the soap opera he produced this season.
Frank LeBlanc can be contacted at
fleblanc@kscequinox.com
