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Lane Kiffin took coaches and players from Ole Miss to LSU, including the Rebels’ leading tackler, TJ Dottery. But apparently, stealing talent wasn’t enough to beat his former program. Ole Miss handed LSU a 32-24 loss, and now Kiffin’s younger brother, Chris, has revealed how the Tigers used Pete Golding’s complicated defensive system to lure Dottery to Baton Rouge.

“Pete Golding was in his ear so much there he couldn’t really focus and he couldn’t play fast. That was our selling point to come here: Get in a simpler scheme, be able to play fast,” Chris Kiffin said, as reported by LSU insider Jon Blau on X.

LSU sold him on a simpler scheme that would let him play faster. Yet Golding still got the last laugh against the program that poached his players.

Chris Kiffin is Lane’s younger brother and LSU’s co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He coached Ole Miss’s linebackers in 2025 and had watched Dottery handle defensive communication under Golding before helping recruit him to LSU.

Lane Kiffin's recruitment tactics are as bold as his offense. Subscribe to stay on top of college football's most audacious coaching moves and transfer portal drama.

The tension between the two programs goes beyond Dottery’s transfer. Golding tried to convince Lane Kiffin to stay at Ole Miss before his November 2025 departure, even telling ESPN that he called Kiffin an idiot for considering the move. Kiffin left anyway, leaving Golding to manage a roster facing potential departures while preparing for a CFP run.

Dottery entered the portal on January 15, 2026, visited Baton Rouge that Thursday, and signed with the Tigers at 11:59 p.m. on January 16. He began his career at Clemson before leaving the program in 2023 following a locker-room incident. He then joined Ole Miss, where Lane Kiffin gave him another opportunity.

Dottery recorded 174 tackles across two seasons and expected to stay in Oxford until conversations with LSU changed his mind. Speaking with LouisianaSports.net, Dottery said a major reason for transferring was LSU’s defensive scheme, which would allow him to “just fly around, have fun.”

Dottery was one of Ole Miss’s most heavily used defenders last season and led the SEC with 98 tackles. He also wore the green dot, meaning he received defensive calls through his helmet and relayed them to teammates. Chris Kiffin argued that the constant instructions made it difficult for Dottery to react quickly. Through six games at LSU, the linebacker had recorded 42 tackles, four quarterback hurries, three pass breakups, and two forced fumbles.

“Pete is a great coach,” Lane Kiffin said, but added that Golding “has a lot of information in his system.” He acknowledged Dottery’s ability to relay those instructions, saying, “but at the same time, it’s hard to play fast when you get that.” LSU believed reducing that workload would allow the linebacker to play more instinctively.

Following Dottery’s departure, Golding rebuilt the roster with 29 incoming transfers and the nation’s No. 2 transfer portal class, according to 247Sports, while retaining offensive stars Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy. Against his former team on September 19, Dottery recorded five tackles, including two solo stops, and no sacks.

LSU trailed 24-7 at halftime before scoring 17 unanswered points to tie the game in the fourth quarter. However, Chambliss answered with a 14-yard touchdown run, and Ole Miss converted the two-point attempt to secure the 32-24 victory. Golding had lost his leading tackler to Kiffin, yet his Rebels still came out on top.

Dottery later took over LSU’s defensive calls after Whit Weeks broke his leg against Texas A&M. Against Kentucky last week, he led the Tigers with 12 tackles, including 11 solo stops, in a 35-34 overtime defeat. Lane Kiffin acknowledged that LSU had two opportunities on offense and two on defense to win the game in regulation but failed to capitalize on any of them.

LSU, now 4-2 and 1-2 in SEC play, hosts Mississippi State on Saturday. Bulldogs quarterback Kamario Taylor is questionable with a foot injury, while Dottery remains a key part of LSU’s defense as the Tigers look to recover from their overtime loss to Kentucky.

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Lane Kiffin took coaches and players from Ole Miss to LSU, including the Rebels’ leading tackler, TJ Dottery. But apparently, stealing talent wasn’t enough to beat his former program. Ole Miss handed LSU a 32-24 loss, and now Kiffin’s younger brother, Chris, has revealed how the Tigers used Pete Golding’s complicated defensive system to lure Dottery to Baton Rouge.

“Pete Golding was in his ear so much there he couldn’t really focus and he couldn’t play fast. That was our selling point to come here: Get in a simpler scheme, be able to play fast,” Chris Kiffin said, as reported by LSU insider Jon Blau on X.

LSU sold him on a simpler scheme that would let him play faster. Yet Golding still got the last laugh against the program that poached his players.

Chris Kiffin is Lane’s younger brother and LSU’s co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He coached Ole Miss’s linebackers in 2025 and had watched Dottery handle defensive communication under Golding before helping recruit him to LSU.

Lane Kiffin's recruitment tactics are as bold as his offense. Subscribe to stay on top of college football's most audacious coaching moves and transfer portal drama.

The tension between the two programs goes beyond Dottery’s transfer. Golding tried to convince Lane Kiffin to stay at Ole Miss before his November 2025 departure, even telling ESPN that he called Kiffin an idiot for considering the move. Kiffin left anyway, leaving Golding to manage a roster facing potential departures while preparing for a CFP run.

Dottery entered the portal on January 15, 2026, visited Baton Rouge that Thursday, and signed with the Tigers at 11:59 p.m. on January 16. He began his career at Clemson before leaving the program in 2023 following a locker-room incident. He then joined Ole Miss, where Lane Kiffin gave him another opportunity.

Dottery recorded 174 tackles across two seasons and expected to stay in Oxford until conversations with LSU changed his mind. Speaking with LouisianaSports.net, Dottery said a major reason for transferring was LSU’s defensive scheme, which would allow him to “just fly around, have fun.”

Dottery was one of Ole Miss’s most heavily used defenders last season and led the SEC with 98 tackles. He also wore the green dot, meaning he received defensive calls through his helmet and relayed them to teammates. Chris Kiffin argued that the constant instructions made it difficult for Dottery to react quickly. Through six games at LSU, the linebacker had recorded 42 tackles, four quarterback hurries, three pass breakups, and two forced fumbles.

“Pete is a great coach,” Lane Kiffin said, but added that Golding “has a lot of information in his system.” He acknowledged Dottery’s ability to relay those instructions, saying, “but at the same time, it’s hard to play fast when you get that.” LSU believed reducing that workload would allow the linebacker to play more instinctively.

Following Dottery’s departure, Golding rebuilt the roster with 29 incoming transfers and the nation’s No. 2 transfer portal class, according to 247Sports, while retaining offensive stars Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy. Against his former team on September 19, Dottery recorded five tackles, including two solo stops, and no sacks.

LSU trailed 24-7 at halftime before scoring 17 unanswered points to tie the game in the fourth quarter. However, Chambliss answered with a 14-yard touchdown run, and Ole Miss converted the two-point attempt to secure the 32-24 victory. Golding had lost his leading tackler to Kiffin, yet his Rebels still came out on top.

Dottery later took over LSU’s defensive calls after Whit Weeks broke his leg against Texas A&M. Against Kentucky last week, he led the Tigers with 12 tackles, including 11 solo stops, in a 35-34 overtime defeat. Lane Kiffin acknowledged that LSU had two opportunities on offense and two on defense to win the game in regulation but failed to capitalize on any of them.

LSU, now 4-2 and 1-2 in SEC play, hosts Mississippi State on Saturday. Bulldogs quarterback Kamario Taylor is questionable with a foot injury, while Dottery remains a key part of LSU’s defense as the Tigers look to recover from their overtime loss to Kentucky.

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The post LSU Coach Publicly Admits Turning Former Ole Miss Star Against Pete Golding to Get Him to Play for Lane Kiffin appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos