Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin nearly bolted for the Auburn Tigers last year but decided to remain with the Rebels at the last second before their final game of the 2022 season. It was clearly a tough decision for Kiffin, who immediately was tabbed as a potential target for Auburn football after they fired Bryan Harsin last October.
While the Ole Miss football coach has no regrets about staying in Oxford, he did open up recently in an interview, discussing how he ‘struggled‘ with the criticism he received for how the situation was handled. Here's what Kiffin had to say, per Alex Scarborough of ESPN.
“We screw up all the time,” he said. “But when you think you're doing the right thing and then you're really criticized for it — especially by your own people — I struggled with that because I feel like I went through a decision-making process that you're supposed to go through.
“I mean, you got to decide. It's your life and your family's life.”
Kiffin said that he felt he was “doing the right thing” but truly felt conflicted once he heard the criticism from the masses, especially his own Ole Miss football supporters.
From Kiffin's point of view, he was simply handling business with his- and his family's- best interests at heart.
The Ole Miss football coach took heat from fans and pundits for how he handled the situation, but he recently explained that he didn't want to be a distraction by announcing his decision before the team's Egg Bowl game vs. Mississippi State.
Whether or not people accept Kiffin's move- or how he handled it- all that matters is if he's fully committed to the Rebels.
After a successful offseason, no one can question that.