Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss Exit for LSU Left Rebels Players 'Heartbroken,' Zxavian Harris Says

Former Ole Miss defensive lineman Zxavian Harris revealed that Lane Kiffin leaving the Rebels to become LSU's next head coach during the 2025 season wasn't received well by some of his teammates.

"I was pretty upset," Harris said, per Scott Dochterman of The Athletic. "A lot of people, like younger cats, they were there for Kiffin and stuff. And since Kiffin left, they were just heartbroken. But we got better towards the season ended."

Kiffin patrolled the sidelines at Ole Miss from 2020-25, including its 11-1 start to last season. He left before the end of the year to join the Tigers, signing a contract that ranked No. 2 among all college coaches in average annual value.

"When Kiffin was there, he was telling us like almost every day, don't believe the rumors," Harris explained, via Dochterman. "Like he's not gonna leave, to keep us focused. But by the time it came, everybody was starstruck. He told us not to believe the rumors. We should have believed it, and he just left out of nowhere."

Pete Golding replaced Kiffin to close out the 2025 season for the Rebels, as they finished with a 13-2 record before advancing to the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Golding was eventually named Ole Miss' permanent head coach.

As for Harris, he racked up 58 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks and three passes defended. He's currently navigating through the pre-draft process and has met with the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Buccaneers (via A to Z Sports' Ryan Roberts).

Meanwhile, Kiffin is preparing to enter his first season coaching at LSU.