Mississippi athletic director Keith Carter, members of the football team and even the state’s top public safety officer are challenging the veracity of Lane Kiffin’s portrayal of the events surrounding his departure for LSU.
“There’s been a lot of things he said publicly that I’m not sure are totally accurate,” Carter said Wednesday during an appearance on a Mississippi talk show.
LSU announced the hiring of Kiffin on Sunday, the day after Mississippi defeated Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl to finish the regular season 11-1. Rebels defensive coordinator Pete Golding was named head coach shortly after Kiffin’s hiring at LSU became official.
Kiffin posted a farewell message on X saying he had hoped to coach the Rebels through the College Football Playoff and that the players wanted him to stay through the postseason. The team is No. 6 in this week’s CFP rankings, making it a near lock to receive an at-large bid.
“My request to do so was denied by Keith Carter despite the team also asking him to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance,” Kiffin wrote.
Kiffin had said he was under the impression he would be able to coach the Rebels in the CFP until he was told otherwise in a meeting early Sunday, according to Yahoo Sports.
Speaking on