Ole Miss Players Blast Lane Kiffin After Messy Departure to LSU: New HC Pete Golding Hits Back
As LSU welcomed Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss players dispute his version of events and new coach Pete Golding weighs in.
The Lane Kiffin fallout at Ole Miss has only started. While LSU fans are all aboard the ‘Lane Train’, there seems to be a problem with some of his parting remarks and the explanation of his decision to leave Oxford.
In what might have been the most chaotic exit in recent college football memory, Kiffin found himself trying to argue with Ole Miss AD Keith Carter over the weekend in hopes of coaching the Rebels in the college football playoff.
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Now, over 48 hours after his race to the Oxford airport, Ole Miss players are starting to voice their displeasure with comments made on social media by the former head coach. Even during his opening press conference at LSU, Lane Kiffin tried to convince fans and anyone who would listen that players at Ole Miss wanted him to stick around for the upcoming CFP run.
When he released a statement on social media regarding his abrupt exit, he also, at the same time, pulled the pin and dropped a grenade on the Rebels athletic department.
While standing at the podium in Baton Rouge, Kiffin essentially did the same, pointing out that players were lobbying him to stay, which would have aligned with what he calls the ‘National Media’ narrative around the entire situation.
Unfortunately for Kiffin, there was one glaring issue stemming from his Oxford exit. Lane had only met with the leadership council on Sunday inside the Ole Miss football building, which he tried to portray as the entire team.
According to multiple sources, council members told him in no uncertain terms to ‘hit the exit’ and stop playing with their emotions.
On Tuesday, just24 hours after his introductory press conference at LSU, it was Ole Miss players who started to call Kiffin out for what they perceived to be lies pertaining to him being ‘wanted’.
New Ole Miss HC Pete Golding Cancels Presser, Shot At Kiffin
Later on Wednesday afternoon, Rebels athletic director Keith Carter, along with Chancellor Glenn Boyce, were scheduled to hold a press conference to introduce new head coach Pete Golding.
The entire event was scheduled to be aired on the SEC Network, with Carter and Boyce also taking questions regarding the events that transpired over the last few weeks. I would imagine they were also planning to address some of the comments made by Kiffin during his press conference at LSU.
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But, in a twist that had folks in Oxford praising Pete Golding, the Ole Miss coach called off the media gathering, while also taking a shot at Lane Kiffin in the process.
"After reconsidering tomorrow’s activities, I have decided to shift the focus back to where it belongs — the team," Golding said in a statement. "Our players have not received the notoriety they deserve for their remarkable accomplishments this season. They have given their all to Ole Miss, and I want to see the spotlight placed on them and the mission in front of us. This time is not about my start as head coach. It is about finishing this season’s story with a playoff run, and we look forward to discussing the next step in that journey following Sunday’s selection announcement."
Yea, it doesn't take a scientist to decipher what Golding meant by wanting to see the attention return to the players, and not the circus that had been hovering over them for the past month.
There will be a press conference by Ole Miss officials sometime soon, I would imagine. There will be questions answered about what truly went down over the weekend that followed the Egg Bowl.
And when that day comes, Keith Carter might choose to take the high road when it comes to Lane Kiffin.
But, when Ole Miss players started sending out messages on social media Tuesday night, I would imagine this was good enough for the athletic department, for now.