Lane Kiffin claims angry Ole Miss fans tried to ‘run us off the road’ after he defected to LSU in $90m deal
It’s been a tense few months in Oxford, Mississippi as the ‘will-he, won’t-he’ saga of Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss dragged on. Now, there’s a conclusion and it’s not one Rebels fans like.
After spending most of the season debating whether to stay or leave, Kiffin announced on Sunday that he would be departing for the vacant job at LSU.
But even getting to the airport was a dangerous endeavor for the coach and his family. Kiffin claimed that enraged Rebels fans tried to crash him.
When asked about the anger he’s facing from Mississippians for his choice, Kiffin said, ‘It’s the passion of the SEC. I understand that. I don’t get emotional with it.’
He then addressed his departing memories: ‘That airport scene, and [his son] Knox and I driving and people trying to run us off the road, man, and the things they said to us.
‘Then we got here and we had been here for six minutes… “We love you, Coach. You’re the best ever.”… That’s the SEC, I’ve been around long enough to know that, and it’s just the passion of the SEC.
Lane Kiffin said people in Mississippi tried to ‘run us off the road’ as he headed to the airport
Kiffin (L) was booed as he boarded a plane to accept the job at LSU on Sunday afternoon
‘I’m not upset at those reactions by fans, by people. I think that people get really upset when you leave somewhere because they feel hurt because you’re doing a really good job.
‘They ain’t going to the airport and driving from all over, okay, to say those things and yell those things and try to run you off the road if you were doing bad.
‘I just look at it as passionate people in the SEC, and then it means they really liked what we were doing there.’
A decision on Kiffin’s future was expected to be announced on Saturday after Ole Miss beat rivals Mississippi State in the ‘Egg Bowl’.
Instead, no decision had been formally revealed throughout the day leading to reporters and fans wondering what his next move would be.
On Sunday, Kiffin announced on his social media that he’d be swapping Oxford for Baton Rouge.
Kiffin’s deal will last seven years and will see the coach earn $91million before incentives
Rebels fans showered him with boos behind the fences at University-Oxford Airport before he flew to Louisiana to sign an incentive-laden deal worth $91million over seven years.
Kiffin’s choice came after he lobbied university officials to have him stay on as head coach through the College Football Playoff before he’d eventually depart.
However, this request was denied. Longtime defensive coordinator Pete Golding was hired as the Rebels’ head coach full-time through the playoffs.
In his six seasons in Oxford, Kiffin never had a losing season and compiled a record of 55-19. This year was set to be his first CFP appearance.
