Lane Kiffin details Ole Miss fans anger on intense ride to airport, boos before LSU flight
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One of the hardest parts of Lane Kiffin’s final day in Oxford was the drive to the airport.
He left Ole Miss football to coach at LSU. Angry Ole Miss fans crowded the fence at the airport in Oxford yelled boos, curses and jeers at Kiffin as he boarded the jet Nov. 30 on the way to Baton Rouge.
Kiffin said he felt human driving to the airport with his son, Knox Kiffin. He heard the taunts, and sensed frustration from fans of the program he coached for six years.
The angry crowd was something to ponder on the flight. It’s something he’s heard before, like when he left Tennessee after one season to coach at USC in 2010.
Kiffin provided details about his decision at his introductory LSU press conference on Dec. 1. He addressed leaving Ole Miss with the No. 5 Rebels (11-1) on the verge of making their first College Football Playoff.
“We spent six years there, and that airport scene,” Kiffin said. “Knox and I driving. People trying to run us off the road man, and the things they said to us, and then we got here (Baton Rouge) and had been here for six minutes and it was, ‘We love you coach, you are the best ever,’ … that’s the SEC.”
Kiffin said he was not upset, and he thought he made the right decision when he arrived at LSU’s campus.
“They ain’t going to the airport and driving from all over to say all those things, yell those things and try to run you off the road if you were doing bad,” Kiffin said. “I just look at it as passionate people in the SEC.”
Why Lane Kiffin said he left Ole Miss for LSU
Kiffin highlighted the advantage of playing in LSU’s Tiger Stadium, historical recruiting success and NIL capabilities as reasons for choosing the Tigers. He did not get into specifics on NIL promises, but said that money set aside for players mattered much more than what he was being paid.
Kiffin said landing in Baton Rouge and seeing a lit-up Tiger Stadium helped cement in his mind that he made the correct decision. He said the home atmosphere at LSU is an elite environment that he observed firsthand as an opposing coach.
“I’m very honored to be the head coach at LSU,” Kiffin said. “I can sum it up by saying this, this place is different.”
How Lane Kiffin tried to stay at Ole Miss through College Football Playoff
Kiffin said he made his intentions clear to Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter on Nov. 29 that he would be leaving to coach LSU.
The announcement did not come until Nov. 30 because Kiffin spent time presenting a plan to Ole Miss leadership that allowed him to stay at Ole Miss for the CFP and then leave.
Carter held firm in his position that Kiffin needed to leave immediately. Kiffin said he ultimately understood the decision, and it was a difficult past 48 hours.
“It sucked,” Kiffin said. “That’s the only way I can describe it. It sucked for a lot of people. There was no way to possibly do it, in my opinion, any better than we did from a timing standpoint.”
Why Lane Kiffin did not meet with Ole Miss football team before leaving
Kiffin said he was not allowed to speak to the team after Carter’s final decision was made Nov. 30.
“I hate that I didn’t get to explain to players why, but I also totally respect and understand the decision they had to make for the program,” Kiffin said.
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Lane Kiffin details Ole Miss fan anger on intense ride to airport
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