Making a decision this big is never easy, especially when you’re leaving a successful program on the verge of making of the playoffs after 6 years of patience. The Ole Miss Rebels HC Kiffin has a fair share of moving around the programs a little too much; having coached at Tennessee, USC, and with the NFL’s Raiders, so he wanted to avoid the feeling of a rushed exit like his one-year stint at Tennessee. He leaned on two legendary coaches he’s worked under in the past for advice.

Nick Saban, his former boss at Alabama, and Pete Carroll, his former boss at USC. Kiffin needed some serious guidance to figure out the right path.
The advice from his mentors really hit home for Kiffin. Nick Saban had mentioned on a different show that every coach has to manage situations based on “where their heart is” and that it is “really, really hard to up and leave your team”.

“I talked to some mentors, Coach Carroll, Coach Saban, you know.” While speaking to ESPN’s Marty Smith at the airport, Kiffin opened up about his mentors said. “And especially when Coach Carol said, and your dad would tell you to go, man, take the shot. You know, take the shot. You accomplish a lot here.”

It’s true, Lane Kiffin really did accomplish a lot at The Sip. He led Ole Miss to two double-digit win seasons in six years and finished with a 55–19 record. And even though many Rebels fans might disagree right now, this is the type of opportunity his late father, Monte Kiffin, would’ve wanted him to take.

Carroll even has followed up with a personal text: “Call me anytime, Lane. I promised your father I would always take care of you.” The idea of Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss at the times like this didn’t sit well with the Rebels fans. They followed him to the airport just to throw fingers and scream their frustrations.

Now, Kiffin is officially off to Baton Rouge to help the Tigers get back to their glory days at the price of skipping the Ole Miss’ first ever playoff game. The Rebels have already promoted their defensive coordinator, Pete Golding, to run the show for the postseason.