Lane Kiffin trolls Ole Miss when asked about Austin Simmons: ‘Is that tampering?’
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Lane Kiffin was getting ready for his own big game in Week 7, as his new school, LSU, tries to bounce back from a loss at Kentucky when it hosts No. 16 Mississippi State.
There is that matchup which involves Kiffin that has to do with one Mississippi school, as Kiffin’s 22nd-ranked Tigers try to beat the Bulldogs.
But what about that other Mississippi school, Ole Miss, the one that Kiffin coached from 2020 until he bolted for Baton Rouge late in the 2025 season? Kiffin was asked on Monday during his session with reporters about the Rebels and their former quarterback Austin Simmons, who played in Oxford from 2023-25 before he also left to head elsewhere.
While Kiffin landed at LSU, Simmons transferred to Mizzou, which just happens to be playing the Rebels in Oxford on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network). The 13th-ranked Tigers and 9th-ranked Ole Miss will be a proving ground for Simmons and provide a backdrop for another former piece of the 2025 Rebels who’s making a return to Oxford the very next year.
You know, just like Kiffin did earlier this season when LSU played and lost to the Rebels in Oxford. So, Kiffin and Simmons have something in common in 2026, and they also were of course together for 3 seasons at Ole Miss before going their separate ways.
But Kiffin couldn’t escape Simmons when he was asked on Monday during his session with reporters about the quarterback he used to coach in Oxford. Naturally, Kiffin injected comedy into his whole answer.
“Is that tampering if I talk about another player in college? I don’t know anymore,” said Lane Kiffin, in a little, not-so-playful nudge toward Ole Miss. “Is there really tampering anyway? Speaking of one of those two schools. … Does it matter if you tamper? Is there actually a penalty? So, I guess I’ll comment on it. I love Austin. I think Austin’s a first-round draft pick. I’ve said that the whole time through.”
Simmons will try to beat his former school when Mizzou travels to Oxford on Saturday for the ranked SEC showdown. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the Tigers’ chances to pull off the road upset of Ole Miss:
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.
