LSU coach Lane Kiffin has expressed his desire to be helpful to Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff, amid a slew of changes to both programs’ coaching staffs. Kiffin appeared as a guest in the broadcast booth during LSU’s 38-35 loss to Houston in the Texas Bowl with new comments on his departure from Oxford to Baton Rouge.
Several of the offensive assistants following Kiffin at LSU reprized their roles as Ole Miss’ assistants during the playoffs, helping the Rebels run away from Tulane in the first round, 41-10.
“They do a great job,” Kiffin said. “We saw the performance last game. They came back here after that game, came here for a few days and now they’re back there. I was just on the phone with (offensive coordinator) Charlie Weis. We were talking about quarterback rankings, we were looking at them tonight. So sometimes we have our staff meetings, even though they’re back there, when Pete (Golding) is done with his. Then we go ahead and have ours.
“We’re just trying to make it work for both teams so Ole Miss can have the best chance to win a national championship and we can also build what we are here.”
Kiffin then shared his emotions during Ole Miss’ first-round victory.
“It was awesome,” Kiffin said. “It was a great day. It really was. I’m not just saying that. Watching those guys and how much they were smiling after that win. It was the greatest game in Mississippi State history. To blow out Tulane like that, it was awesome to watch them. I was really excited for them.”
Keith Carter, Ole Miss athletic director opted not to allow Kiffin to coach during the playoffs. Kiffin went 55-19 in six seasons with the Rebels. He received a $250,000 bonus from LSU following Ole Miss’ playoff victory, which was part of Kiffin’s contractual agreement. Any advancement in the Rebels’ bracket comes in the form of playoff bonuses for LSU’s Kiffin. That number increases if Ole Miss eliminates SEC champion Georgia in the upcoming Sugar Bowl quarterfinal.
