Did Lane Kiffin Really Give Ultimatums to Ole Miss? New LSU HC Responds to Rumors

Before Lane Kiffin officially departed Ole Miss to become the next head coach of LSU on Sunday, rumors swirled that he attempted to leverage his position with some questionable demands.

However, Kiffin quickly put an end to that notion, telling ESPN's Pete Thamel and Mark Schlabach that he "never gave ultimatums to his Ole Miss coaching staff" before accepting the position at LSU.

Prior to the official announcement of Kiffin's hiring by the Tigers, Brett McMurphy of On3.com reported that a source said the 50-year-old was "essentially demanding to finish the season [with Ole Miss] while simultaneously threatening to poach" the team's roster and coaching staff if he can't. On3.com's Chris Low later added that Kiffin had "lined up most of his offensive staff to join him at LSU" and "told them if they're not on the plane to Baton Rouge today, they won't have a spot on staff."

The Rebels finished the regular season with an 11-1 record and are expected to receive a spot in the College Football Playoff. Rather than letting Kiffin finish out the year with the team, Ole Miss quickly moved on to promote defensive coordinator Pete Golding to the head coach position.

"I just totally wish the team the best of luck, wish that I was coaching. … I just hope they play really well and go win the national championship," Kiffin said of his old team.

Kiffin will now turn his attention to rebuilding an LSU squad that went 7-5 this season.