Lane Kiffin hired as LSU's coach, won't finish season with Ole Miss

The LSU Tigers got what they wanted, hiring Lane Kiffin as their new coach on Sunday.

Kiffin did not get everything he wanted, however, and he will not be coaching Ole Miss for the remainder of the season as the Rebels eye a spot in the College Football Playoff.

"After a lot of prayer and time spent with family, I made the difficult decision to accept the head coaching position at LSU," Kiffin said in a statement Sunday.

His deal with LSU is for seven years and is worth approximately $12 million annually, with the potential for bonuses, a source told ESPN's Pete Thamel. That would make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the sport.

Kiffin, 50, and the Rebels just wrapped up an 11-1 regular season with a 38-19 win over rival Mississippi State, all but assuring them a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

After saying he would decide Saturday whether he'll coach at Ole Miss or LSU in 2026, Kiffin met with Rebels athletics director Keith Carter and chancellor Glenn Boyce for a couple of hours at the chancellor's home in Oxford.

He also sought the advice of former Alabama coach Nick Saban and Las Vegas Raiders coach Pete Carroll, his former boss at USC, over the past few weeks.

"I was hoping to complete a historic six season run with this year's team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs, capitalizing on the team's incredible success and their commitment to finish strong, and investing everything into a playoff run with guardrails in place to protect the program in any areas of concern," Kiffin said in his statement.

"My request to do so was denied by Keith Carter despite the team also asking him to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance. Unfortunately, that means Friday's Egg Bowl was my last game coaching the Rebels."

Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding will "100%" be the Rebels' "permanent" head coach moving forward, a source told ESPN.