Kirby Smart Comments on Lane Kiffin's Decision to Take LSU Job

Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart comments on Lane Kiffin's decision to leave Ole Miss for LSU.

Nov 11, 2023; Athens, Georgia, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin talks to Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart before a game at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart comments on Lane Kiffin's decision to leave Ole Miss for LSU.

One of the biggest decisions in all of college football was made official on Sunday as Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin made the decision to take the LSU job. As a result, Kiffin will not coach the Rebels during the playoffs, and instead, defensive coordinator Pete Golding will finish out the year as the head coach of Ole Miss and is set to permanently hold that position.

It was a very long process as the LSU job came open just a few weeks ago. Prior to that, Kiffin was being linked to the Florida job until it ultimately came down to him staying at Ole Miss or him taking the LSU job. It appeared that Kiffin wanted to take the LSU job and finish out the season with the Rebels, but that option was not made available to him by Ole Miss.

On Monday, during Kirby Smart's press conference to preview the SEC Championship game between Alabama and Georgia, Smart was asked about Kiffin's decision to leave Ole Miss for LSU.

Kirby Smart Speaks on Lane Kiffin Leaving Ole Miss

Nov 9, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart and Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin talk prior to the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

"I don't envy the position he was in," Smart said. "Really hard position to be in and to navigate. I think [Nick] Saban addressed it best. We are in a time frame where ADs and people are making decisions in a timeline that is not congruent with the season and the playoffs. So it makes for really difficult decisions."

There was an opportunity for Ole Miss to play Georgia in the conference title game. Had Alabama lost to Auburn on Saturday, it would have been a rematch between the Rebels and the Bulldogs. Had that occurred, it appears that Georgia would have faced an Ole Miss team without Kiffin on the other side.

It is worth noting that Georgia is set to play LSU and Kiffin during the 2027 college football season. The game is scheduled to be played at Sanford Stadium, and for now, that is the next time Kiffin and Smart will matchup against one another again. The last time Georgia played LSU in the regular season was in 2018 when they made the trip out to Baton Rogue and lost to the Tigers.

Georgia will play the Crimson Tide this Saturday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Alabama beat Georgia earlier in the season in Athens, so Smart and his team will be looking to aveneg that loss and win their second straight SEC Championship.