At times, college football can overshadow the professional level, and this week is no different. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin publicly announced that he’s taking the coveted LSU head coach job next year, and one former member of the New England Patriots gave his two cents about the hire.
Running back Brandon Bolden, who had two separate stints with New England during his long NFL career, spent four years playing for Ole Miss and spoke to Patriots on SI about his thoughts on Kiffin heading elsewhere.
Brandon Bolden Spent Four Productive Years With The Rebels
“LSU is getting a players coach,” Bolden said. “Ever since coming there, it seemed he changed the culture and the players seem to actually play for him.”
Kiffin helped lead the Rebels to an 11-1 record and their first berth in the College Football Playoff. The drama-laced saga included Kiffin leaving ahead of the team’s title run and a mob of Ole Miss fans booing their former coach on the Tarmac ahead of his trip to LSU.
Bolden, however, didn’t play for Kiffin when he was in Oxford, Mississippi. His four-year stint (2008-2011) was under former head coach Houston Nutt. The two-time Super Bowl champion confirmed that Kiffin was certainly a coach he would have wanted to play for in college.
“(I) never really heard anything bad about him,” Bolden said. “So yes, I believe I would (have wanted to play for Kiffin).”
Mississippi State fans hold signs referencing Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin’s potential departure during a college football game between Mississippi State and Ole Miss at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss., on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. Ole Miss defeated Mississippi State 38-19 in the Egg Bowl. | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Will A Coaching Change Before The Playoffs Hurt Ole Miss?
Kiffin reportedly wanted to coach the Rebels in their run to a national championship, as well as take the job in Baton Rouge. That ask was denied, and Ole Miss will now be run by Pete Golding, the new head coach who got the promotion from defensive coordinator.
So with a national title potienally a few weeks away, will this impact the Rebels? Bolden is up in the air on that.
“It may,” Bolden said. “Depends on the coaches and players honestly. I truly believe they have a great team and will continue to succeed.”
Bolden isn’t a stranger to coaching turnover in the middle of a season. After signing with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2012, he became a fantastic special teams player while also chipping in on offense en route to a pair of Super Bowl rings. While he was steady with Bill Belichick in New England, his brief time in Las Vegas with the Raiders ended in a coaching change.
Oct 29, 2011; Auburn, AL, USA; Mississippi Rebels running back Brandon Bolden (34) scores a touchdown against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan Hare Stadium. The Tigers beat the Rebels 41-23. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-Imagn Images | John Reed-Imagn Images
Bolden’s final year with the Raiders was in 2023, when the Las Vegas brass decided to move on from head coach (and now-Patriots offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels midway through the year. It’s a hard thing to acclimate to, Bolden said.
While the college game is different than the professional level, seeing a head coach leave in any circumstance is hard for the players.
“Total shock,” Bolden said, remembering when McDaniels was fired. “But it’s football. Nothing is ever as easy as it seems. Something like this can break a team or bring them close together, like any loss.”