'Slap in the Face,' Ole Miss' Harris Rips Lane Kiffin for 'Trying to Steal Our Shine'

At least one Ole Miss player isn't a fan of Lane Kiffin's reported bid to appear on the Sugar Bowl broadcast during his former team's College Football Playoff quarterfinals win over Georgia.

Rebels defensive tackle Zxavian Harris said Thursday that Kiffin's departure for LSU ahead of the playoff was "like a slap in the face and then a backhand," per On3's Chris Low.

About his former head coach's interest in appearing on the broadcast, Harris said, per Low: "That's what Kiffin tried to do. He tried to be a damn announcer … trying to be a troll. We were going to troll him. We got something for him.

"He was just trying to steal our shine. That's all he tried to do. That's all he's been trying to do, is steal our shine."

Low had previously reported Kiffin had "reached out to ESPN personnel about possibly appearing in the broadcast booth for a segment during the game, although sources say ESPN hasn't been receptive."

Kiffin ultimately spent Thursday attending an LSU women's basketball game.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach later reported that Kiffin "considered attending the Sugar Bowl, and lobbied to appear on 'College GameDay' or another program during the ESPN game broadcast."

Ole Miss claimed a 39-34 win over Georgia on Thursday without Kiffin, who had announced back on Nov. 30 he had accepted the head coaching job at LSU before the end of the regular season.

Kiffin said at the time he had asked to continue coaching Ole Miss through the playoff before leaving for LSU, but that athletic director Keith Carter had blocked his request.

The Rebels did allow multiple assistants who will be joining Kiffin at LSU return to Oxford for the playoff.

Kiffin sparked further rumors about his potential attendance at the Sugar Bowl when he posted a photo with some of those assistants Tuesday night.

He was not ultimately in attendance at Caesars Superdome, however, as Ole Miss secured the upset win thanks to 362 passing yards from quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and a game-winning field goal from Lucas Carneiro.

Kiffin tagged Ole Miss in a message of support posted after the game:

Kiffin may not be able to coach his former team through the playoff, but he still has financial incentive to root for Ole Miss this postseason. Thanks to incentives built into his LSU contract, Kiffin has received $500,000 so far for the Rebels' run to the semifinals, per On3's Grant Grubbs.