LSU's Lane Kiffin sends controversial message on Tulane-Ole Miss CFP game

Despite not being able to coach in the College Football Playoff, Lane Kiffin revealed his rooting interest as Ole Miss takes on Tulane. Kiffin's answer may surprise some fans given the heated rivalry between Ole Miss and LSU.

Kiffin made it clear that he is still rooting on the Rebels despite now wearing an LSU visor amid a complicated divorce.

"(It's) not the hunger games guys," Kiffin noted in a message on X on Saturday. "Let’s both cheer for each other all year long except when we play each other @LSUfootball @OleMissFB."

Kiffin quoted a message from Mississippi governor Tate Reeves who exchanged barbs with Louisiana governor Jeff Landry ahead of the College Football Playoff. The former Ole Miss coach publicly campaigned to be on the Rebels sideline against Tulane despite taking the LSU job.

Ole Miss denied Lane Kiffin's request to coach in the College Football Playoff

College Football Playoff programs handled coaching changes differently during the postseason. James Madison is allowing Bob Chesney to coach against Oregon despite his departure to UCLA.

Archie Manning didn't hold back on Lane Kiffin in a video message to an Ole Miss fan 😳

(via alexkelly_93/TikTok) pic.twitter.com/NyD364JkYL
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 10, 2025

Tulane opted for the same approach with Jon Sumrall ahead of the coach's move to Florida. Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter made it clear to Kiffin that he would not be able to coach the team in the College Football Playoff if he left for another program.

"The players were concerned about commitment and those types of things," Carter told ESPN's Mark Schlabach. "[With] this playoff run, we plan on this being a four-, five-, six-week thing. There's just no way that that's possible. I know that the scheduling and the timing and all that stuff is a part of the equation.

"But I'm just not sure there was any plan that was going to work that would allow the head coach of a rival school to be in your building and coaching your guys. We had to stand up for our program and what we thought was best."

Some Ole Miss players refuted Lane Kiffin's claim amid LSU departure

Kiffin previously claimed that Ole Miss denied his request to continue coaching despite players wanting the coach to remain on the sideline. Yet, some Ole Miss players disputed Kiffin's claim.

There is an obvious difference between Kiffin continuing to coach for an SEC rival than the situations of Group of Six programs losing their leader for a Power Four job. Several players took to social media to call out Kiffin's message and seemed to imply not everyone wanted the coach to remain in Oxford after his departure for LSU.

Fax this was not said from anyone‼️ https://t.co/NryoqTHE2i
— Paris Wilkins (@PjWilkins4) December 3, 2025

"'Despite the team asking me to keep coaching.' I think everyone that was in that room would disagree," Ole Miss offensive linemen Brycen Sanders noted in a Dec. 2 message on X while quoting Kiffin's statement.