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Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter refuted several claims former head coach Lane Kiffin made regarding his tumultuous departure to LSU.
On Wednesday, Carter delivered his first public comments since Kiffin was named the Tigers’ next head coach. Carter’s comments appeared to be in line with rebuttals by offensive lineman Brycen Sanders and other players to Kiffin’s account of the events leading up to his departure.
One of Carter’s sticking points centered on when Kiffin was told he would be banned from coaching Ole Miss in a potential College Football Playoff. “There are a lot of things that are public that I’m not sure are totally 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 on November 2, 2024. (Nelson Chenault/Image Images)
Carter clarified that Kiffin and his representative were told several weeks in advance that coaching the Rebels in any potential playoff game was effectively impossible.
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If Ole Miss had the opportunity to compete for the program’s first SEC championship, Carter suggested he would have been open to more discussions about the possibility of Kiffin coaching in Atlanta.
“It was very clear several weeks ago that coaching in the postseason was not going to be an option for Coach Kiffin,” Carter told host Richard Cross.
Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin during the fourth quarter against the Georgia State Panthers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on August 30, 2024. (Petre Thomas/Imagn Images)
In a farewell message, Kiffin wrote that he asked to “complete a historic six-season run with this year’s team by leading Ole Miss to the playoffs,” but Carter denied it “despite the team also asking him to allow me to continue coaching.”
Sanders quickly refuted Kiffin’s account, citing his post X. “‘Even though the team asked me to keep training.’ I think everyone in that room would disagree,” Sanders posted. It should be noted that Sanders misquoted Kiffin.
LSU football coach Lane Kiffin speaks at the South Stadium Club at Tiger Stadium on Dec. 1, 2025, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Matthew Hinton/Image Images)
Other Ole Miss players also chimed in and said, “Let them know. Every single person,” fellow 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 then promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to head coach.
