Stephen A. Smith deals $92 million college football coach blunt reality check

Lane Kiffin officially accepted the LSU head coaching job on November 30, agreeing to a seven-year, $92 million contract that brings him to Baton Rouge and ends a six-year run at Ole Miss that included three straight double-digit win seasons for the first time in program history.

Kiffin said he requested permission from Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter to remain and coach the Rebels through the College Football Playoff, but Carter denied the request, prompting Ole Miss to immediately begin preparing for life without him.

He reportedly attempted to bring a large group of Ole Miss assistants with him to LSU, with some leaving immediately and others remaining through portions of the postseason.

The arrangement created public friction and reports that Kiffin had threatened staff who did not follow him to Baton Rouge.

Defensive coordinator Pete Golding was promoted to acting head coach, while offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. continued calling plays through Ole Miss’ CFP run despite agreeing to join Kiffin at LSU.

Other assistants followed a similar pattern, producing an unusually fluid coaching structure for a playoff team.

On Thursday, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith publicly criticized the way the situation was handled, calling Kiffin’s actions damaging to his image and arguing that either the coaches should have been allowed to finish with Ole Miss or not be involved at all, and that the inconsistent approach looked bad.

"Lane Kiffin looks very, very bad," Smith said. "All the words that came out of his mouth about caring about the kids and stuff like that just goes right out the window, and it's a damn shame. I'm one of those people that has always supported Lane Kiffin moving to LSU. I said that was absolutely the right move to make, and I stand by that."

"But to sit up there and have them coaching against Georgia, and then now here you are when they're about to go up against Miami, and they're not allowed to coach. That level of inconsistency, that lack of continuity with the people that's involved, who knows what kind of damage that could do," Smith added.

"It's a damn shame. ... You either let them coach through the duration until Ole Miss' season is over, or you don't."@stephenasmith weighs in on Lane Kiffin not allowing some coaches to coach Ole Miss in the CFP Semifinal ✍️ pic.twitter.com/Za4JTJKK1B
— First Take (@FirstTake) January 8, 2026

Ole Miss sits in the CFP at 13–1 after an 11–1 regular season, a historic campaign that capped the program's rapid rise under Kiffin.

In the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal on January 1, the Rebels upset No. 3 Georgia 39–34 behind senior quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns.

Chambliss has totaled 4,180 yards of offense and 29 touchdowns this season, emerging as the centerpiece of Ole Miss’ playoff run one year after starring at Division II Ferris State and being targeted in the transfer portal by Kiffin.

Mississippi Rebels head coach Pete Golding. — Ole Miss Rebels head coach Pete Golding (center) reacts on the sidelines during the second half of the 2026 Sugar Bowl | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Looking ahead, Ole Miss (No. 6 seed, 13–1) faces Miami (No. 10, 12–2) in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal on Thursday night.

Miami’s defense has been the story of its season, ranking among the national stingiest units (13.1 points allowed per game), while quarterback Carson Beck has thrown for 3,313 yards with 27 TDs and a 74.4% completion rate.

The matchup, therefore, centers on Ole Miss’s high-powered offense (Chambliss) against Miami’s elite defense, with the Kiffin saga adding an extra storyline going into the game.

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