Lane Kiffin is no longer the Ole Miss head coach; he left in late 2025 to take the LSU job, and defensive coordinator Pete Golding was promoted to replace him as the Rebelsā€™ head coach.

Quick Scoop: What Happened

  • Lane Kiffin spent six seasons as the Ole Miss head football coach and turned the Rebels into a College Football Playoff contender.
  • In late November 2025, he informed Ole Miss that he was accepting another head coaching job and was soon announced as LSUā€™s new coach on a lucrative multiā€‘year deal.
  • Because he was leaving for another school, Ole Miss leadership had him step away from the team immediately rather than coach them through the playoff run.

New Coach At Ole Miss

  • Ole Miss quickly promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to be the programā€™s new head coach and 40th in school history.
  • Golding, known for strong defenses and recruiting, was tasked with leading the Rebels straight into the College Football Playoff right after Kiffinā€™s departure.

The CFP Drama And Aftermath

  • Kiffin wanted to keep coaching Ole Miss through the playoff, but school administrators decided he would not coach in the CFP once he accepted the LSU job, which created tension and a lot of fan backlash online.
  • Several assistants agreed to follow Kiffin to LSU, creating uncertainty around who would remain with Ole Miss during the CFP run and fueling messageā€‘board and forum debates about loyalty, timing, and ā€œtamperingā€ with players.

How It Looks Now

  • Ole Miss has continued its playoff push under Golding, which many fans see as proof the program can thrive even after Kiffinā€™s exit.
  • Meanwhile, Kiffinā€™s contract at LSU still pays out bonuses tied to Ole Missā€™ CFP success, so he has actually earned significant bonus money from the Rebelsā€™ postseason wins even though heā€™s no longer their coach.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.