Ole Miss DT Doesn’t Hold Back on Lane Kiffin After Sugar Bowl: ‘Trying to Steal Our Shine’

Zxavian Harris had some harsh words for his former coach following the CFP quarterfinal win over Georgia.

Ole Miss DT Zxavian Harris called out Lane Kiffin after the Rebels’ win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. / Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the most part, Ole Miss players and coaches have tried to avoid making their ongoing College Football Playoff run about Lane Kiffin any more than is necessary. Following Thursday’s Sugar Bowl defeat of Georgia, which vaults the Rebels into the College Football Playoff semifinals, however, senior defensive tackle Zxavian Harris didn’t hold back on the coach who ditched Ole Miss for LSU on the verge of the CFP.

“I know some people were down at first and came here because of Kiffin,” Harris said after the Rebels’ dramatic 39–34 win, per On3. “But after realizing how he was and when Coach [Pete] Golding came in, they saw a difference in how a real head coach is supposed to be, and you’ve seen how we’ve come together.”

Harris added that Kiffin’s departure ahead of the CFP was “like a slap in the face and then a backhand. We took that personally.”

FREE. SI College Football Newsletter. Get SI's College Football Newsletter. dark

Golding, the defensive coordinator under Kiffin, was elevated to Ole Miss head coach without the interim tag after his ex-boss’s departure. He’s leading a staff that features a number of outgoing assistants who have ultimately followed Kiffin to the Tigers, but stayed on to coach against Tulane and Georgia in the CFP. Now, with the Rebels’ run continuing on to next Thursday’s Fiesta Bowl against Miami, the program isn’t even certain if those assistants—including offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.—will continue on with the team as it finds itself two wins from a national championship.

That possibility undergirds the issues that many have with Kiffin’s departure, as he publicly backs his former team but continues to put up hurdles for it in its pursuit of a national championship.

Fischer: Ole Miss Moves on From Lane Kiffin and Closer to National Title in CFP Shocker

Harris made it clear that the team doesn’t appreciate how the departure was handled.

“That’s what Kiffin tried to do. He tried to be a damn announcer … trying to be a troll. We were going to troll him. We got something for him,” the defensive tackle continued. “He was just trying to steal our shine. That’s all he tried to do.

“That’s all he’s been trying to do, is steal our shine.”

No matter what, Ole Miss will keep shining for at least another week. The Rebels take on the Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 8 in the Fiesta Bowl, with the victor facing the winner of Friday’s Peach Bowl between Indiana and Oregon with a national championship on the line.

---

FREE NEWSLETTER. SI BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark

More College Football on Sports Illustrated

feed