Lane Kiffin departs Ole Miss after six seasons

The Lane Train is departing its depot in Oxford, MS after a six year stay and seems to be burning bridges on his way out.

It was likely, always, silently understood upon the hiring of Lane Kiffin, that he may leave for a “bigger” job one day. After three seasons and 27 wins at FAU, Ole Miss took a chance on the polarizing head coach, giving him his second chance to lead an SEC program.

Sure Ole Miss doesn’t have the history of Tennessee or USC, but the coach, desperate for approval, had a new chance to make history.

The unfortunate part of the story is the reports Kiffin essentially tried to extort Ole Miss by threatening to take his offensive coaching staff and poaching players if he was not allowed to coach the Rebels through the College Football Playoff. He is showing his tendency to have his cake and eat it too, and for the first time, athletic director Keith Carter told him no.

It was a request too far for a coach leaving for a massive conference rival to stay in the Ole Miss offices and recruit LSU players for the next three weeks. It was a ridiculous request, and Carter did what he had to do to protect the program. The latest reports out of Oxford are that defensive coordinator Pete Golding will be the head coach for the CFP run.

Kiffin came to Oxford in 2020, only to have his first season derailed by COVID-19. Everyone forgets about that season because prior to kicking off the 2021 season, the NCAA introduced NIL, shifting the landscape of college athletics forever.

Coach Kiffin has always been an innovator and it’s not just his offense or analytical approach to in-game decision making. Ole Miss got ahead of the NIL game with the formation of the Grove Collective in December of 2021. All Ole Miss has done since 2021 is win 50 games in five seasons.

Unprecedented success in the state of Mississippi. A legacy forming.

From the flying clipboards to watching Juice and Knox grow up, there are countless moments to look back on during Kiffin’s tenure.

A Tarnished Tale

Whether it was the “Many Lives of Lane Kiffin” puff piece by ESPN or the constant, misleading tweets, Lane’s legacy in Oxford will not be remembered for being the first coach to have three consecutive 10 win seasons or being the first coach in the state of Mississippi to have 11 regular seasons wins.

At least not right away.

In that documentary by ESPN, Kiffin mentioned wanting a statue built somewhere. Well, he was on his way in Oxford. A school that allowed him to be him. A place that he claims healed him, grew him.

But perhaps happiness isn’t enough. Maybe some people can only live in chaos or in a chase. Maybe, at heart, he’s just a wanderer, not truly knowing what he is in pursuit of.

But none of that will matter in the immediate aftermath. No, this goes beyond the pine box departure from the 90’s. The drawn out, troll tweeting, agonizing uncertainty of the preceding weeks will be what sticks in the minds of Rebel faithful.

Forget the 55-19 record. Forget the five Egg Bowl wins in six years. Forget the most successful stretch of Ole Miss Football history for the majority of its fans today.

Perhaps Harvey Dent was onto something when he said, “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Kiffin could’ve been a hero, instead he has become public enemy No. 1 in Oxford (at least for some time).

For Ole Miss fans now, the rally behind the players and coaches who stay for this playoff journey has to be like nothing seen before. It is easy to give a head coach all the credit, but Kiffin didn’t complete a single pass or cause a single fumble this season. The players are who need all the headlines now.