NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Lane Kiffin made a cryptic post Monday morning as the college football world deals with the fallout from his decision to leave Ole Miss to take the LSU Tigers’ head coaching job.
Kiffin announced his decision to leave the Rebels as the team is likely to make the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history. Meanwhile, LSU will have to start over with a new head coach and hope to rebuild into the championship powerhouse it once was.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
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)
The coach made a post on X to start the day.
“Exhale. Have the best Monday ever,” he wrote, adding, “#GodsPlan.”
With the post, Kiffin attached a picture from a motivational book.
“Let the seams unravel and reform your whole life as you really intended it to be,” the passage read. “When you’re forced to let go, you’re also asked to exhale. What doesn’t last isn’t meant to be. If you’re not sure, wait. Time reveals all truth, all knowledge, all reality that will come into being. It will all become clear.”
Kiffin told ESPN Sunday as he traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that the decision to leave Ole Miss was “challenging.”
He said he would stay and coach Ole Miss through the postseason.
2025 COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 14 BUZZ: LANE KIFFIN TO LSU, MSU HIRING PAT FITZGERALD
Mississippi State fans hold signs referencing Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin’s potential resignation during a college football game between Mississippi State and Ole Miss at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss., Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
“We went through a lot last night with (Ole Miss athletic director) Keith Carter trying to figure out a way to make this playoff work and be able to coach the team. And at the end of the day, it’s his decision and I fully respect that. I understand that decision,” he said.
“I just wish the team good luck, I wish I was coaching… I just hope they play really well and win the national championship.”
He added that he reached out to Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll and former Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban before making his decision.
“My heart was here. But I talked to some mentors — Coach Carroll, Coach Saban. Especially when Coach Carroll said, ‘Your dad would tell you to go. Take the shot.’
“I always hated how we gave it one year at Tennessee and left. I hated the feeling of it. I think we gave a lot to this program and to this city and some of the historic wins in this stadium, best regular season in school history. So I’m proud of that part. But it just became time. I talked to God and he told me it was time to start a new chapter.”
Ole Miss named defensive coordinator Pete Golding its head coach to replace Kiffin.
Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin speaks to the media during SEC Media Day at the Omni Atlanta Hotel on July 14, 2025. (Jordan Godfree/Imagn Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
Kiffin guided Ole Miss to its 11th win of the season over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.
