When Lane Kiffin took over as head coach at Ole Miss, he was greeted with a hero’s welcome when he landed in Oxford.
Kiffin, now the new head coach at LSU, was given a different kind of reception as he was preparing to depart from Ole Miss on Sunday.
Hordes of Ole Miss fans waited outside the gates of University-Oxford Airport as Kiffin and his family boarded a pair of planes from LSU to head to Baton Rouge, giving the now-former Rebels coach the middle finger and booing him and his group.
CBS Sports’ John Talty captured a photo of Ole Miss fans flipping the bird toward the awaiting aircraft, and video showed the fans that had gathered booing Chris Kiffin, the older brother of Kiffin, as he arrived and boarded the plane.
Lane Kiffin later arrived and was shown a similar greeting as he stepped out of an SUV that had pulled onto the tarmac and exited to get on the plane.
One fan could be heard screaming “f–k you” as Kiffin went up the stairs of the aircraft.
The discontent among the fans likely stems from a number of factors, including the messy way in which Kiffin bolted for his new job at LSU.
It officially came days after Ole Miss secured its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance with their win in the Egg Bowl over Mississippi State on Friday.
The decision ended weeks of speculation about whether he would stay in Oxford or take the vacant position at either LSU or Florida.
The Gators dropped out of the Kiffin sweepstakes, changing course after “irregular communication” from the football coach.
Kiffin needed all of Saturday and into Sunday to make the decision.
“After a lot of prayer and time spent with family, I made the difficult decision to accept the head coaching position at LSU,” he posted to X on Sunday. “I was hoping to complete a historic six season run with this year’s team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs, capitalizing on the team’s incredible success and their commitment to finish strong, and investing everything into a playoff run with guardrails in place to protect the program in any areas of concern. My request to do so was denied by [Ole Miss AD] Keith Carter despite the team also asking him to
“While I am looking forward to a new start with a unique opportunity at LSU, I will forever cherish the incredible six years I spent at Ole Miss and will be rooting hard for the team to complete their mission and bring a championship to Oxford.”
Kiffin went 55-19 during six seasons at Ole Miss.
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