Lane Kiffin burned the bridges like there was no tomorrow with Ole Miss, and threw the ashes in the AD's face.
The victim card Act was what made it so tough to believe that he actually considered staying in Oxford when the rumors were at fever pitch.
The Athletic's Christopher Kamrani and Christopher Rexrode reported Kiffin was sincerely torn between staying in the Grove or moving to Baton Rouge, as the rumors had then.
"While it seemed Kiffin might’ve had one foot out the door, several sources said Kiffin genuinely felt torn on the decision, even though revisionist history might now argue it was a foregone conclusion."
Lane Kiffin almost signed a contract extension with Ole Miss
What's more shocking is how close the Rebels were to closing Kiffin. Right in the thick of the rumors of Kiffin announcing his decision between LSU or Ole Miss after the Egg Bowl, Ole Miss almost had him. Almost.
"One source briefed on the discussions said Kiffin came very close to signing an Ole Miss extension two days before the Egg Bowl. Ole Miss was able to match any dollar amount offered by LSU or Florida when it came to Kiffin’s contract. He said as much publicly after taking the Tigers’ gig."
We'll hardly ever know what went wrong. Was it merely Kiffin's wanderlust or old patterns creeping back in place, or something that Ole Miss couldn't agree on that LSU did.
The Rebels would have been an absolute juggernaut had Kiffin decided to stay.
Now, it's in Pete Golding's hands to show whether that status could still remotely hold up for the Rebs in the College Football Playoff as they take on Tulane Saturday.