Lane Kiffin speaks about Keith Carter denying request to finish CFP run with Ole Miss
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Lane Kiffin bolted from Ole Miss to LSU on Sunday in a seemingly never-ending saga that finally did end on the final day of November.
But that doesn’t mean that Kiffin didn’t get in his final parting words to Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter before hopping on a plane destined for Baton Rouge.
During an interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith on Sunday before that flight took off from Oxford, Kiffin covered a lot of hot topics surrounding his departure, including the fact that he won’t be coaching the Rebels in the upcoming College Football Playoff.
“This was a very challenging, difficult day. We went through a lot (Saturday night) with Keith Carter trying to figure out a way to make this Playoff run work and to be able to coach this team. At the end of the day, I totally respect that (decision). I understand that decision,” Lane Kiffin said. “I just totally wish the team the best of luck, wish that I was coaching but it was a very challenging position for him to be in. I totally respect that. I hope they play really well and go win the national championship.”
With that, Kiffin boarded that plane ticketed for Baton Rouge and left Oxford behind. Those players in Oxford will soon be getting ready for a College Football Playoff opponent to be determined, without Kiffin leading them in their pursuit of that national title.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
