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Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter denied several allegations former head coach Lane Kiffin made about his tumultuous departure to LSU.
On Wednesday, Carter made his first public comments since Kiffin was named the next head coach of the Tigers. Carter’s comments appeared to be in line with offensive lineman Brycen Sanders’ and other players’ rejections of Kiffin’s account of the events leading up to his exit.
One of Carter’s sticking points centered on when Kiffin was told he would be barred from coaching Ole Miss in a potential College Football Playoff. “A lot of things in public that I’m not sure are completely accurate,” Carter told SuperTalk Mississippi.
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Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin in the fourth quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium Nov. 2, 2024. (Nelson Chenault/Imagn Images)
Carter clarified that Kiffin and his representative were given several weeks’ notice that coaching the Rebels in any potential playoff run was actually a non-starter.
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Should Ole Miss have an opportunity to compete for the program’s first-ever SEC championship, Carter suggested he would have been open to further discussions about the possibility of Kiffin coaching in Atlanta.
“It was very clear that coaching in the postseason was not going to be an option for Coach Kiffin several weeks ago,” Carter told host Richard Cross.
Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin in the fourth quarter against the Georgia State Panthers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on August 30, 2024. (Petre Thomas/Imagn Images)
In a resignation letter, Kiffin wrote that he asked to “complete a historic six-season run with this year’s team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs,” but Carter declined “despite the fact that the team also asked him to allow me to continue coaching.”
Sanders quickly refuted Kiffin’s account, citing his X post. “‘Despite the team asking me to keep coaching,’ I think anyone in that room would disagree,” Sanders wrote. It should be noted that Sanders misquoted Kiffin.
LSU head football coach Lane Kiffin speaks in the South Stadium Club at Tiger Stadium on Dec. 1, 2025 in Baton Rouge, La. (Matthew Hinton/Imagn Images)
Other Ole Miss players chimed in as well, saying, “Let them know. Every single person,” offensive lineman Jayden Williams said in response to Sanders’ post.
Carter added that Kiffin told him Saturday night that he would take the job at LSU. Ole Miss later elevated defensive coordinator Pete Golding to head coach.
