Lane Kiffin Says Ole Miss May Have Won CFP If He Was Allowed to Coach After Taking LSU Job

LSU head football coach Lane Kiffin wondered this week whether things may have gone differently in last season's College Football Playoff had he been permitted to coach Ole Miss.

Speaking to Wilson Alexander of On3.com, Kiffin said, "Obviously, I wish the timing was different. There was no way around it. Tried to do everything possible to still coach and, obviously, that was [athletic director Keith Carter's] decision and understandable. Do I still wish that had happened? Yeah, I do. I wish that would have been allowed to happen. Maybe we would have won it all."

Despite Ole Miss qualifying for the CFP under Kiffin's leadership last season, Kiffin accepted the head coaching job at LSU. While Kiffin lobbied to remain at Ole Miss through the CFP, the school instead promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to head coach and had him replace Kiffin during the Rebels' playoff run.

With Golding at the helm, Ole Miss won a pair of CFP games before falling 31-27 to Miami in the semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl.

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Kiffin had been the head coach at Ole Miss since 2020, leading the Rebels to an overall record of 55-19.

Despite that success, it wasn't until last season that Ole Miss finally made it to the CFP under Kiffin's guidance thanks to an 11-1 mark.

Long known as an offensive guru, Kiffin got the most out of transfer quarterback Trinidad Chambliss last season, as he finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting in what was his first year in FBS.

For the season, Chambliss completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 3,937 yards, 22 touchdowns and three interceptions, while also rushing for 527 yards and eight scores.

While Kiffin undoubtedly played a role in Chambliss' success, he was just as good in the CFP after Kiffin's departure.

In CFP wins over Tulane and Georgia, as well as the loss to Miami, Chambliss threw for 921 yards, four touchdowns and no picks, and rushed for 57 yards and another two touchdowns.

Ole Miss also averaged over 35 points per game during the CFP, and it is fair to wonder how much of a difference Kiffin's presence would have made.

That question can never be definitively answered, but Kiffin will have a chance to prove his value when his Tigers go on the road to face the Rebels during the 2026 college football season.

The Sept. 19 matchup figures to be among the most highly anticipated games of the season, and all eyes in the college football world will be on Ole Miss and LSU.

Kiffin will be tasked with going against several players who he recruited, including Chambliss, but it will be a good barometer for him to see how quickly players he recruited to LSU through high school and the transfer portal are able to contribute.