Lane Kiffin reacts to Ole Miss' loss to Miami, harps on controversial ending in CFP semifinals

LSU coach Lane Kiffin was heartbroken following his former program's loss to Miami in Thursday's night College Football Playoff semifinal. Ole Miss took the lead in the final minutes before Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck delivered a touchdown run with 18 seconds left to win, 31-27, capping a 15-play, 75-yard drive.

"Amazing effort and grit, Ole Miss Football best season ever in the history of Ole Miss, love you guys," Kiffin wrote with a broken heart emoji.

On the verge of the Rebels' first playoff appearance in program history, Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU in November after six seasons and a 55-19 overall record. It was the culmination of a multi-week brouhaha with Rebels athletic director Keith Carter, LSU and Florida for which school would be Kiffin's ultimate suitor for 2026 and beyond.

Kiffin attempted to coach Ole Miss during the playoff, but was not allowed. And despite his messy exit and coaching staff turmoil, the Rebels nearly reached the national championship game without him under coach Pete Golding, Kiffin's defensive coordinator who was promoted to lead the program.

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Ole Miss nearly advanced to the national championship game, but the last heave from Trinidad Chambliss fell incomplete in the back of the end zone on a toss intended for De'Zhaun Stribling in the corner. Miami cornerback Ethan O'Connor was draped over Stribling, holding onto his pads for several yards, but there was no penalty on the play.

Kiffin wanted a defensive pass interference flag on the play, but the no-call was the final end to an otherwise terrific season from the Rebels.

Golding was not interested in harping on the unsuccessful Hail Mary attempt as time expired.

"Those situations are tough to call. Yeah, there was contact, but it happens a lot," Golding said after the loss. "That's not why we lost the game. But we just had a lot of opportunities late, but I think it shows you the resiliency of the team. They didn't care. They're going to go out there and give it all they got. It looks like you ran out of time, but we didn't execute well enough, didn't prepare well enough, and we didn't coach good enough."

Ole Miss unfazed by Kiffin's departure

Since Kiffin's exit to Baton Rouge, the Rebels won two playoff games, secured an incoming recruiting class and re-signed several of their biggest stars as focal points for their 2026 plan.

Before the Fiesta Bowl semifinal, Golding refused the notion that Kiffin's situation was a distraction for his team. The cake was already baked this season, so to speak, and players -- along with what remained of the coaching staff -- was there to see it through with elite focus.

You can change a coach, but can't alter a culture, Golding said.

"There's been too much invested in that and it's been aligned correctly that one person is not going to impact something so drastically," Golding said Wednesday. "If it is, it's probably not built right. If one coach in any sport can determine the outcome, he probably doesn't have a very good staff. If one player can determine the outcome, we probably didn't recruit and create the right depth. Or we didn't prepare them to be ready for his opportunity. It's a team game. There's so many people that go into it.

"The timing of when it happened, in my opinion, couldn't happen at a better time for the players because everything was already in place. Everything was on the track. It's headed the right direction. We got really good players. There's already a culture created. They knew the expectation. The only thing that was different is who is running them out of the tunnel. And to be honest with you, I don't think the players give a damn who runs them out of the tunnel."

Ole Miss seemed to use Kiffin's decision to leave before the postseason as motivation to prove a point and keep winning. Following the Rebels' quarterfinal win over Georgia, defensive tackle Zxavian Harris ripped his former coach to ESPN.

Kiffin did not attend the Rebels' quarterfinal playoff win in New Orleans despite an invitation from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, but was encouraging publicly during this Ole Miss postseason run while lending a handful of assistant coaches to Golding.

Kiffin returns to Oxford officially next season on Sept. 19 when Ole Miss hosts LSU.