Lane Kiffin chose to leave the Ole Miss Rebels for Baton Rouge after six seasons during the playoff run, creating one of the most talked-about moves to this day.
The man whose name was once chanted throughout Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was shown the finger as he boarded the plane at Oxford airport.
Kiffin wanted to remain as head coach until the playoffs, but his decision was not liked by the front office.
He even claimed that the program might not have lost to the Miami Hurricanes in the semi-finals if he were there instead of the present coach, Pete Golding.
All those questions need answering and Golding can’t wait for September. In Week 3, the Rebels take on the Tigers at home.
“Going to be a madhouse, an absolute madhouse, and this whole place is ready … been ready,” Golding told On3.
GettyLane Kiffin still sends texts to Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss.
Golding is not pretending the Lane Kiffin breakup was clean. The Ole Miss coach said the story keeps following him because Kiffin keeps talking.
“I still get probably 10 texts a day from Lane, a lot of the same screenshots everybody else does and everything else,” Golding told On3.
“When it first occurred, his leaving LSU, there wasn’t any bad blood. Then some things occurred throughout the process and we didn’t talk for a little bit.”
Pete Golding Is Not Interested in a Tidy Breakup
Golding’s complaint is not that Kiffin left. It is the collateral damage. He said the problem was the effect on players, staff members and the perception around the program.
Golding has not hidden his frustration with how Kiffin’s exit played out. But he had to clear the air once the personal and professional damage started to overlap.
“If he wanted to go to LSU, that’s fine. Go to LSU, but leave us alone,” Keith Carter, athletic director at Ole Miss, told On3. “But because you don’t get what you wanted in being able to coach in the playoffs.”
“Don’t try to burn us down on the way out and then continue to try to burn us down behind the scenes. That was the most frustrating part and the most disappointing part of the way it all ended.”
Golding took over during a volatile stretch and never had the luxury of a clean handoff.
Why Pete Golding’s Version of Ole Miss Looks Different?
Ole Miss brought in the No. 14 transfer portal class and added 50 new players, including 29 transfers. It also retained key veterans such as Trinidad Chambliss, Kewan Lacy, Suntarine Perkins, Kam Franklin and Patrick Kutas. Golding believes the defense got deeper inside, especially with Jehiem Oatis and other front-line additions.
“We really got hurt toward the end of the year with a lack of depth in the interior defensive line. That really got us late, especially in the last drive of the Miami game and just not having the ability to rotate guys and taking too many snaps,” Golding said.
The defense may be Golding’s best selling point. Ole Miss finished 2024 second nationally in scoring defense and first in sacks per game, with a school-record 52 sacks.
GettyHead coaches Pete Golding of the Ole Miss Rebels and Mario Cristobal of the Miami Hurricanes greet after the game.
Golding believes his current group can match that standard if the secondary cleans up communication issues. He also plans to keep calling plays on defense, a rare burden for a head coach.
There is also the NCAA issue hovering over the program. Golding was tied to tampering accusations involving Clemson linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
Golding has argued that the sport lacks consistent enforcement without outright denying the allegations.
“It’s about the enforcement of it, that’s what everybody wants. What are the rules going to be in place, and are they going to be enforced? Up to this point, that hasn’t happened,” he questioned.
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