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As the Ole Miss Rebels prepare for their College Football Playoff (CFP) game this Saturday, it’s hard not to think about Lane Kiffin not being on the sidelines.
Kiffin helped lead the Rebels to their first CFP appearance, but he left after the final regular season game to become LSU’s new head coach.
The decision by Kiffin has created a bitter end to a program that has built up well over the past six seasons. It’s one that has influenced current players and students alike, as well as alumni like former New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister.
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NFL legend Deuce McAllister gives back to the New Orleans hospitality and military community at the Crown Royal #GenerosityHour on November 22, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Josh Brasted/Getty Images)
McAllister, who played for the Rebels from 1997-2000, can speak for many who support Ole Miss when he says there was disappointment and pain when Kiffin decided to go to Baton Rouge.
“Instantly, there’s taunting, there’s rage, there’s anger, every other nasty word. Most of all, there’s hurt,” McAllister told The Athletic. “Because you thought there was trust. You thought there was real trust and real care there. And not to say there wasn’t, it just didn’t end up like that. In the long run, you can’t take away the success.”
Since Kiffin’s departure, there has been fallout and conflicting statements from both sides, starting with his statement to the Rebels faithful.
LANE KIFFIN LEAVES FOUR LSU ASSISTANTS FOR OLE MISS FOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RACE AGAINST TULANE
“I hoped to complete a historic six-season run with this year’s team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs, capitalizing on the team’s incredible success and commitment to finishing strong, and investing everything in a playoff run with guardrails in place to protect the program in all areas of concern,” Kiffin’s statement read. “My request to do so was denied by [athletic director] Keith Carter despite the team also asking him to allow me to continue coaching them so that they could better maintain their high level of performance.”
Carter disputed several claims made by Kiffin during his first public comments on the matter.
“A lot of things in public that I’m not sure are completely accurate,” Carter told SuperTalk Mississippi.
Deuce Mcallister of the Mississippi Rebels runs with the ball during a game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi on October 3, 1998. (Getty Images)
Carter said Kiffin and his representatives were given several weeks’ notice that coaching the Rebels in any potential playoff game was effectively a non-starter.
“It was very clear that coaching in the postseason was not going to be an option for Coach Kiffin several weeks ago,” Carter said.
One of Kiffin’s Ole Miss players, Spencer Sanders, also disputed his coach’s claim that the players wanted him to coach their remaining games in the CFP.
“I think anyone who was in that room would disagree,” Sanders wrote on X.
Offensive lineman Jayden Williams chimed in on Sanders’ sentiment: “Let them know. Every single person.”
Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin in the fourth quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Nov. 2, 2024. (Nelson Chenault/Imagn Images)
Since then, Kiffin has allowed four assistants who followed him to LSU to return to Oxford to help the Rebels prepare for Tulane in the first round of the CFP on Saturday.
