Lane Kiffin Tells Ole Miss to 'Win it All' Amid Return of Staffers Ahead of CFP

Former head coach Lane Kiffin may not be a fan-favorite at Ole Miss after he left for LSU, but he is still cheering for his old team to win the national title.

"Go win it all," Kiffin said Tuesday in response to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel revealing that five assistants who are going with him to LSU will remain with the Rebels through the College Football Playoff.

Those assistants are offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., tight ends coach Joe Cox, wide receivers coach George McDonald, assistant quarterbacks coach Dane Stevens and slot wide receivers coach Sawyer Jordan.

It should be noted Kiffin may have some additional motivation in his decision to root for his former team.

Wilson Alexander of The Advocate reported LSU "agreed to pay [Kiffin] what he 'would have been entitled to receive' if he had stayed at Ole Miss during the CFP, including $150,000 if the Rebels play in the first round as expected or up to $1 million if they win the national championship."

While having those coaches through the CFP will help Ole Miss maintain some continuity after Kiffin's departure, delivering on the head coach's wish to win it all will be anything but easy.

Assuming the Rebels take care of business in their opening-round home game against a Tulane team they previously defeated by 35 points, they will face a powerhouse Georgia squad in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs won the regular-season matchup between the two teams and have plenty of momentum following the SEC title.

If Ole Miss can somehow beat Georgia, it could be looking at a semifinal showdown against the reigning national champions in Ohio State.

That is quite the path just to get to the national championship game, but the Rebels have an explosive offense and many of their offensive coaches staying put to make sure the unit lives up to its potential in the most important games of the season.

It is notable Kiffin was so publicly supportive of his assistants going back to Ole Miss with an opportunity to win a national championship considering he previously dispelled the notion he gave those coaches an ultimatum to join him with the Tigers.

"Someone pumped a narrative in that there was an ultimatum to coaches or something," Kiffin said during an interview with ESPN's Marty Smith (4:45 mark). "There was nothing. Every coach has their own decision to make, and I would never give them an ultimatum like that. Those are all their own individual decisions."

The Ole Miss and LSU rivalry will certainly be appointment viewing next season and beyond in large part because of Kiffin's decision to leave the Rebels at the end of an 11-1 regular season and ahead of the CFP.

But, for now, he is cheering for his old team.