Lane Kiffin
Oct. 25, 2025 — that’s the day the Ole Miss Rebels went to Norman, Oklahoma, and beat the Sooners in a thriller. It’s also, oddly enough, the day Lane Kiffin decided he was leaving Oxford for “greener pastures.”
He reportedly asked Pete Golding after the game if he was ready to go to Florida for Kiffin’s takeover of the Gators.
Yep, it was after the Oklahoma game that Kiffin reportedly started planning his exit. Unfortunately for him, the team he had just had to complicate things and kept on winning.
Lane wanted to have it both ways. He wanted to coach Ole Miss in the playoffs, and still take a job outside Oxford. That was a nonstarter for athletic director Keith Carter and Chancellor Glenn Boyce.
In the end, as much as we’ve heard about a now older and wiser Lane Kiffin, the truth is that he hasn’t changed one bit. He can still scheme an offense and quarterback to great heights, but he just can’t get out of his own way when it comes to humility or maturity.
LSU fans don’t want to believe it, and simply want everyone to believe that Ole Miss is still “in shambles.”
I say Rebel fans are living rent-free in the head of the LSU clown show, and I love it.
We know what happened as Lane made his escape from Oxford, including his mostly-unsuccessful attempt to raid the Ole Miss roster. At the end of the day, we kept the crown jewels of the Rebels roster securely in the crown, and Baton Rouge can’t stand it! But enough about petulant children. Let’s talk football — and new beginnings.
Now, on to Nov. 29.
One day after the Rebels dominated the Bulldogs in Starkville, Golding was named the head coach at Ole Miss.
The job Golding has done since then has been outstanding, and, in my humble opinion, not talked about nearly enough.
He steadied the ship and then took the Rebels on a playoff run highlighted by a thrilling win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. While Kiffin was watching Ole Miss do what he only once was able to do in Oxford, Golding only needed one shot to beat the Bulldogs in a big (playoff) game, and was a last-minute heartbreaking loss to Miami away from taking his team to the national championship game.
The Rebels just ran out of time that day. Kiffin never made it to the big ones on time, it seemed.
Then came the most important part of Golding’s job: player retention.
Every school you can think of — especially the one in Red Stick — tried to raid this roster.
To no avail.
Across the country, coaches who took new jobs brought their rosters with them. Thanks to Golding, his staff, Keith Carter and Walker Jones, that didn’t happen at Ole Miss.
Those three pulling the rope in the same direction is why Ole Miss football will continue to thrive in the NIL era.
The haters haven’t accepted that college sports have completely changed — and Ole Miss is here to stay.
Retention is the main reason the Rebels will be a top-five team entering 2026, and why Ole Miss has two bonafide Heisman Trophy contenders in Kewan Lacy and Trinidad Chambliss.
Walker Jones and his NIL machine did a great job helping Pete hold off the vultures.
And how about the coaching staff Golding put together.
Even as a defensive guy, Pete understands that a fast-paced, modern offense is one of the keys to the overall success of a program, so he hired Joe Don Baker — a former Kiffin disciple who knows how to use tempo to put a defense on its heels.
If you don’t believe it, go look at what his offenses did at East Carolina last season.
And that’s why I believe in Pete Golding. From top to bottom, he has surrounded himself with strong coaches and ace recruiters to withstand the departure of our petulant past.
Just about every blue-chip prospect who releases a finalist list has Ole Miss on it.
This staff is going to sign a lot of great players, and for my money, it’s the best coaching staff in Ole Miss history, top to bottom.
On top of that, Golding has added some Rebel greats — guys who know Ole Miss and Mississippi — to an already loaded staff. Some of my childhood heroes are now on the sideline: Lanier Gothie, Marcus Woodson, Michael Spurlock and Terrance Metcalf to name a few.
The Rebels have high hopes for 2026.
Golding addressed key needs on a mostly-retained semifinal squad. He stacked the defense with studs through the portal and added depth to an already potent offense.
I expect the offense to be just as good in ’26 — and the defense to be significantly better, with a chance to be a top-10 unit nationally.
Spring practice started two weeks ago, and for once, it’s refreshingly all about football. No drama. No dumb tweets.
At least not from our coach.
Barring major injuries, I fully expect the Rebels to be right back in the playoffs this year.
The first game in Nashville will be here before you know it — and I can’t wait.
Hotty Toddy.
