Like many divorces, the one between Ole Miss and new LSU head coach Lane Kiffin is getting ugly.
It all started, of course, with Kiffin’s decision to become LSU’s head coach at the conclusion of the Rebels’ regular season. Ole Miss, however, was preparing to enter the College Football Playoff as one of the 12 teams, and Kiffin still wanted to be involved with the postseason run.
Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter wasn’t having that and gave Kiffin an ultimatum: stay in Oxford through the playoff or leave immediately for Baton Rouge. Kiffin chose the latter.
Meanwhile, Ole Miss came just one win away from reaching the CFP National Championship, falling to Miami in the Fiesta Bowl. That result only deepened tensions, as the Rebels were still being coached during the playoff by assistants who were pulling double-duty between Ole Miss and LSU.
Now, even with both LSU and Ole Miss sitting at home during the national title game, the rivalry has intensified — this time in the transfer portal. LSU currently holds the No. 1-ranked portal class, ahead of Texas at No. 2 and Ole Miss at No. 3, according to 247Sports.
Where things have turned especially contentious is in Kiffin’s aggressive pursuit of his former Ole Miss players.
Lane Kiffin Targets Former Ole Miss Players
LSU has secured 29 transfer portal commitments so far, with only one coming directly from Ole Miss: four-star wide receiver Winston Watkins. But that may only be the beginning.
On Jan. 15, Ole Miss star edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen entered the transfer portal, despite previously re-signing with the Rebels. According to On3’s Ben Garrett, Ole Miss intends to hold Umanmielen to his NIL contract.
Kiffin has also attempted to lure Rebels offensive lineman Devin Harper to Baton Rouge. He made a push for running back Kewan Lacy as well, though that effort came up short.
Still, Kiffin’s tactics appear to know no bounds, with sources describing his approach as ultra-aggressive.
Ole Miss Locker Room Turmoil Escalates Situation
The situation inside the Ole Miss locker room has only added fuel to the fire after NIL term sheets and contract details leaked within the program. The fallout was swift, with linebacker TJ Dottery entering the transfer portal shortly after the leak.
According to Garrett, the leak traces back to Kiffin.
“Things shifted this week, and only after Kiffin leaked contract details through agents connected to Ole Miss transfer signees,” Garrett wrote. “Now, through Dottery and others, Kiffin is making a run at Harper and Umanmielen.”
One Ole Miss source told Garrett, “[Kiffin is] trying to destroy our locker room.”
Leaking NIL contracts to turn players on one another or a university is stunning — even by Kiffin’s standards — but not entirely surprising. The LSU head coach appears intent on not only rebuilding the Tigers, but doing so while actively destabilizing his former program.
“He’s fighting dirty. And he’s banking on no one stopping him,” Garrett added.
Another Ole Miss source described the situation as “hand-to-hand combat” between the Rebels and Kiffin’s LSU staff.
All of it sets the stage for a volatile reunion on Sept. 19, when LSU travels to Oxford to face Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium — a matchup that now carries far more than just SEC implications.
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