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Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter refuted several claims former head coach Lane Kiffin made about his tumultuous departure for LSU.
On Wednesday, Carter delivered his first public comments since Kiffin was named the next head coach of the Tigers. Carter’s comments seemed to be in line with offensive lineman Brycen Sanders’ and other players’ rebuttals to Kiffin’s account of the events leading up to his exit.
One of Carter’s sticking points centered on when Kiffin was told he would be barred from coaching Ole Miss in a potential College Football Playoff. “A lot of things publicly 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 Nov. 2, 2024. (Nelson Chenault/Imagn Images)
Carter clarified that Kiffin and his representative were given several weeks’ notice that coaching the Rebels in any potential playoff games was effectively a nonstarter.
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If Ole Miss were to have an opportunity to compete for the program’s first-ever SEC championship, Carter suggested he would have been open to further discussions about the possibility of Kiffin coaching in Atlanta.
“It was very clear that coaching in the postseason was not going to be an option for Coach Kiffin several weeks ago,” Carter told host Richard Cross.
Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin looks on during the fourth quarter against the Georgia State Panthers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Aug. 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 through the playoffs,” but Carter denied it “despite the team also asking him to allow me to keep coaching.”
Sanders quickly refuted Kiffin’s account, quoting his X post. “‘Despite the team asking me to keep coaching;’. I think everyone that was in that room would disagree,” Sanders posted. It should be noted Sanders misquoted Kiffin.
LSU football head coach Lane Kiffin speaks at South Stadium Club at Tiger Stadium on Dec. 1, 2025 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Matthew Hinton/Imagn Images)
Other Ole Miss players also chimed in, saying, “Let em’ know. Every single person,” fellow offensive lineman Jayden Williams said in response to Sanders’ post.
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Carter added that Kiffin told him Saturday evening that he would take the job at LSU. Ole Miss later elevated defensive coordinator Pete Golding to head coach.
Fox News Digital’s Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
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