Lane Kiffin’s arrival at Ole Miss was nothing short of spectacular, greeted like a celebrity in Oxford.
However, as he gets ready to head out as LSU’s new head coach, the farewell felt less than friendly. On Sunday, while Kiffin and his family were boarding a plane to Baton Rouge, a large crowd of Ole Miss supporters gathered at Oxford University Airport, flipping him off and booing as they watched him leave.
A tweet from John Talty of CBS Sports shared a striking image of an Ole Miss fan directed toward Kiffin’s plane, as well as footage of fans booing his brother, Chris Kiffin, who was arriving to board the same flight.
When Lane finally showed up, the reception didn’t change much. He was met with similar animosity as he stepped out of an SUV, preparing to board the plane, with one voice in the crowd shouting a harsh expletive his way.
This discontent among the fans appears to stem from various reasons, particularly the chaotic way in which Kiffin announced his move to LSU.
The formal announcement came just days after Ole Miss triumphed over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl, marking their first appearance in the College Football Playoff. This decision capped weeks of speculation about where Kiffin would land—whether he’d stay in Oxford, or take up a position at LSU or Florida.
Interestingly, Florida decided to back off from pursuing Kiffin after becoming aware of some concerning communication from him.
Kiffin took some time, from Saturday into Sunday, to reach his decision. He expressed this via a post on X, stating, “After much prayer and time with my family, I have made the difficult decision to accept the head coaching position at LSU. I wanted to complete my historic six-season run with the team this year by leading Ole Miss to the playoffs…” He mentioned that despite the team’s request for Ole Miss Athletic Director Keith Carter to support him, his efforts faced rejection.
He added, “While I’m eager for the fresh start at LSU, I will always cherish the six amazing years I had at Ole Miss and will do everything I can to help bring success to the program.”
During his tenure, Kiffin recorded a 55-19 record with Ole Miss.
