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Lane Kiffin Reacts to Ole Miss Crushing Tulane in CFP Without Him

The LSU coach congratulated his old squad.

Tom Dierberger

Lane Kiffin was introduced as LSU’s new head football coach on Dec. 1.
Lane Kiffin was introduced as LSU’s new head football coach on Dec. 1. / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
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Ole Miss is moving on to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

The No. 6 seed Rebels, in front of a sellout crowd at Vaught Hemingway Stadium that broke a world record for the most Santa hats worn in a single gathering, dominated No. 11 Tulane 41–10 on Saturday. Ole Miss now will face No. 3 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.

And Ole Miss, of course, did it without their former head coach Lane Kiffin.

Kiffin, now the head football coach at LSU, was watching from afar and posted to social media following the Rebels’ big win.

Kiffin spent the last six years coaching in Oxford, Miss., and led Ole Miss to an 11-1 record and the first College Football Playoff appearance in program history this season. But late in November, rumors began swirling about his future at Ole Miss with fellow SEC programs Florida and LSU among the universities reportedly interested in hiring Kiffin away.

While Ole Miss gave Kiffin an ultimatum to decide his next career move—either sticking at Ole Miss or heading to LSU—by the Egg Bowl on Nov. 28, he didn’t announce his decision to head to Baton Rouge until Nov. 30. Kiffin publicly stated that he wanted to take the job at LSU and continue to coach the Rebels in their College Football Playoff run, but Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter wouldn’t allow it.

The Rebels did, however, allow a handful of assistant coaches who followed Kiffin to LSU to return to Ole Miss for its College Football Playoff run. Four offensive assistants joined offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. to make the trip back to Oxford and coach under new Rebels head coach Pete Goulding.

Kiffin and the Tigers will face the coach’s former team next season on Sept. 19 when LSU visits Ole Miss.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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