New LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin knows he’ll have to face down at least one particularly hostile road environment in his first season on the job.
Nobody will like to see him and the Tigers coming. Kiffin has “played the heel” for his entire coaching career, and it’s going to be no different now that he’s at one of college football’s superpowers.
The Ole Miss Rebels and their fans, in particular, are undoubtedly going to provide Kiffin and LSU with an aggressive road environment in 2026, though. Kiffin infamously left Ole Miss for LSU despite getting the Rebels to the doorstep of the College Football Playoff with a regular-season record of 11-1 in 2025.
Kiffin wanted to coach in the CFP, but Ole Miss told him to run off and play with his new friends in Baton Rouge. Looking ahead to the 2026 season, the college football gods have blessed us with Kiffin’s highly anticipated return to Oxford.
It will happen on Sept. 19. Until that point, though, Kiffin seems to have no desire to think about it.
Lane Kiffin discusses return to Ole Miss
He was asked about that game at the SEC spring meetings on Tuesday.
“I’m not even there yet,” Kiffin said, according to On3. “We’ve got so much work to do before that. … I’ve gone back to Tennessee before, so I guess we’ve gotten some practice.”
Kiffin went 55-19 in six seasons at Ole Miss. He was credited with making the Rebels a legitimate contender in the 12-team CFP era, and he’s always been known as one of the best offensive minds in football.
He has quite a history of leaving places on an awkward note, though, and the way he left Ole Miss is no exception to that.
Kiffin will absolutely be public enemy No. 1 in Oxford for the entirety of the 2026 season, but that will especially be true on September 19.
