REPORT: Ole Miss Players Confronted Lane Kiffin About Taking Staffers to LSU

It’s no secret that Lane Kiffin received pushback from Ole Miss officials, who rebuffed his request to continue coaching the team through the College Football Playoffs (CFP).

However, the resistance to Kiffin in his final days at Ole Miss reportedly extended beyond university officials.

Following a contentious meeting with Athletic Director Keith Carter, Kiffin was told not only that he would not coach the Rebels through the playoffs, but also that defensive coordinator Pete Golding would take over as interim head coach and that his presence at the team meeting on Sunday was inappropriate.

In his statement announcing his departure from Ole Miss, Kiffin said his request to coach the team through the playoffs was rebuffed by Carter, despite several players’ desire to allow him to coach.

However, in a report from CBS Sports’ John Talty, we now learn that one of Kiffin’s negotiating tactics to remain as coach through the playoffs was to threaten to take several offensive coaches with him to LSU immediately. Leaving the team without key coaches right before the playoffs.

As Talty reports, once Ole Miss players got wind of Kiffin’s reported threat, they confronted him about it.

“I’m not making them go,” Kiffin told the players, per CBS Sports. “They can do whatever they want.”

Still, whether they were compelled to go or not, several coaches did indeed follow Kiffin to LSU.

“Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Joe Cox, general manager Billy Glasscock, and several other staff members, including Lane’s brother Chris, are expected to head to Baton Rouge,” Sports Illustrated reports. “Several defensive coaches are reportedly staying to work under Golding.”