Lane Kiffin‘s grip on the college football carousel has lessened as the Ole Miss coach announced Sunday afternoon he was leaving for the LSU job.
Kiffin wanted to stay and coach the Rebels in the College Football Playoff, but was told no by Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter.
Here’s what Kiffin said about Sunday’s decision and his time in Oxford:
“After a lot of prayer and time spent with family, I made the difficult decision to accept the head coaching position at LSU,” Kiffin posted to social media at 3 p.m., Sunday. “I was hoping to complete a historic six season run with this year’s team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs, capitalizing on the team’s incredible success and their commitment to finish strong, and investing everything into a playoff run with guardrails in place to protect the program in any areas of concern. 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. Unfortunately, that means Friday’s Egg Bowl was my last game coaching the Rebels.
“While I am looking forward to a new start with a unique opportunity at LSU, I will forever cherish the incredible six years I spent at Ole Miss and will be rooting hard for the team to complete their mission and bring a championship to Oxford.”
Defensive coordinator Pete Golding will lead the Rebels in the CFP and be named permanent Ole Miss coach, per multiple reports.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What Lane Kiffin said about leaving Ole Miss for LSU football
