Lane Kiffin’s decision to leave Ole Miss for SEC rival LSU this offseason certainly didn’t come without controversy.
Kiffin made his choice following an Egg Bowl win on Black Friday, and with the Rebels on their way to the College Football Playoff, he was not allowed to coach the team in the postseason. LSU faced scrutiny amid rumors that the school was pressuring Kiffin to sign a deal ahead of the CFP, but athletics director Verge Ausberry recently denied those allegations.
“We did tell (Kiffin) this here. If you get to the playoffs, you coach the team,” Ausberry said. “We have no problem with that at all. LSU was not part of this, where we didn’t want him to coach. We told him, if you get to the playoffs, please coach the team.”
Here’s my video I recorded and shared of #LSU AD Verge Ausberry on that very topic.
“We did tell him (Kiffin) this here. If you go to the playoffs, you can coach the team. We have no problem with that at all. LSU was not part of this where we didn’t want him to coach. We told… https://t.co/I4zDeSiSVNpic.twitter.com/9NksjO0wjQ
— Preston Guy (@PGuy77) May 15, 2026
While LSU may not have opposed Kiffin coaching Ole Miss in the playoff, the timing of his departure likely precluded it. According to multiple reports, Kiffin was informed by athletics director Keith Carter well before he made his choice that he would not be permitted to stay with the team through the CFP if he took another job.
The Tigers may not have had qualms with Kiffin doing both jobs through the postseason, but it doesn’t seem as if that was ever a real possibility.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: LSU football AD says Lane Kiffin had permission to coach in CFP