Ole Miss Football Players Dispute Lane Kiffin’s Account of Departure
OXFORD, miss. – Several Ole Miss football players publicly challenged statements made by recently departed head coach Lane Kiffin regarding the circumstances of his move to LSU,alleging discrepancies between his public comments and what was communicated to the team. The dispute centers on Kiffin’s explanation for his absence from a team meeting where players were informed of his departure and his inability to coach the Rebels in the upcoming College Football Playoff.
Defensive back Suntarine Perkins took to X (formerly Twitter) on december 3, 2025, directly responding to Kiffin’s remarks. Perkins posted, “That was not the message you said in the meeting room.Everybody that was in there can vouch on this.” He included a link to kiffin’s initial statement.
former Ole Miss defensive tackle Tariqious Tisdale, who played for Kiffin in 2020, also voiced criticism on Facebook, stating, “Don’t get me started on lane he’s been a snake as I met him.” Tisdale added, “And I got teammates that can vouch especially if you was there in 2020-2021 and played defense.”
The player reactions follow Kiffin’s introduction as LSU’s coach on Monday,where he described leaving Ole Miss as ”excruciating and challenging” and stated the decision was made after athletic director Keith carter denied his request to coach the Rebels in the CFP. Kiffin claimed he informed Ole Miss officials of his decision Saturday night and learned he would not be permitted to coach in the playoff approximately 30 minutes before the team meeting. He expressed regret at not being able to personally explain the situation to the players, stating he respected the program’s decision.
Kiffin had previously described the situation as “sucked for a lot of people” and said, ”There was no way to possibly do it better than the way we did.” He also characterized the decision to leave as an attempt to act in the best interest of the players and give them the best chance to win a national championship, particularly with a home playoff game in Mississippi.
Ole Miss finished the regular season with a 10-2 record and earned a spot in the CFP.Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., who initially followed kiffin to LSU, returned to coach the rebels’ offense for the postseason at Kiffin’s request.
