Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said Lane Kiffin has known for a long time that if he went to LSU, he wouldn’t be able to coach Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff.
After traveling to LSU on Sunday, Kiffin said in a statement that he thought he would be coaching the Rebels in the CFP at the latest. That’s not the case, Carter told SuperTalk Mississippi on Wednesday.
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“He’s said a lot of things publicly that I’m not sure are entirely accurate,” Carter said. “I think the coach and his representatives knew weeks ago that if he wasn’t the head coach at Mississippi State, coaching in the playoffs wasn’t going to be an option.”
Carter was then questioned directly about Kiffin’s statement.
“No, that’s not accurate. That’s not accurate. The only thing that’s a little bit problematic is if Auburn beats Alabama, we’re going to the SEC Championship,” Carter said. “That throws a wrench into things, not that he’s going to coach in that game, but that’s probably the only nuance because of the short time frame, but it was definitely clear a few weeks ago that Coach Kiffin wasn’t going to choose to coach in the playoffs.”
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Carter isn’t the first Mississippi State player to push back on Kiffin’s comments after accepting the LSU job. Multiple players took to social media on Tuesday to dispute Kiffin’s statement that the entire team wanted him to stay for the College Football Playoff.
Kiffin has publicly debated whether to stay at Ole Miss or head to LSU (and possibly Florida State). The decision became so high-profile and public that Carter even issued a statement before Week 13, saying Kiffin’s decision would be announced on Saturday, November 29.
By now, you know Saturday came and went without any notice, as Kiffin’s decision lingered until Sunday, when he finally got on a plane to Baton Rouge.
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Even before Kiffin officially announced his departure, Mississippi promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to replace him. Goldin will coach the team in the College Football Playoff. The same goes for offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., one of the few staff members who followed Kiffin to LSU. Kiffin said in a statement Tuesday that he wanted Weiss, the team’s playmaker, to coach in the postseason so Mississippi would not be criticized by the postseason committee.