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LSU coach Lane Kiffin expressed desire to be helpful toward Ole Miss during the College Football Playoff amid a bevy of coaching staff changes at both programs. Kiffin appeared as a guest in the broadcast booth during LSU’s 38-35 loss to Houston in the Texas Bowl with new commentary on his departure from Oxford to Baton Rouge.

Several of the offensive assistants following Kiffin to LSU reprised their roles as Ole Miss assistants during the postseason, which helped the Rebels run away from Tulane in the opening round, 41-10.

“They’re doing a great job,” Kiffin said. “We saw the performance in the last game. They came back down here after that game, came down here for a couple of days and now they’re back there. I was just on the phone with (offensive coordinator) Charlie Weis. We were talking about quarterback rankings, just we were going over them tonight. So, sometimes we have our staff meetings, even though they’re back there, when Pete (Golding) is done with his. Then, we get on and have our own. 

“We’re just trying to make it work for both sides so Ole Miss can have the best chance of winning a national championship and we can also be building what we are here.”

Kiffin later addressed his emotions during the Ole Miss victory in the first round.

“It was awesome,” Kiffin said. “It was a great day. It really was. I’m not just saying that. To watch those guys and how much they were smiling having that success. It was the biggest game in the history of the state of Mississippi. To blow out Tulane like that, it was awesome watching them. I was really excited for them.”

Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter elected not to allow Kiffin to coach through the postseason. Kiffin went 55-19 over six seasons with the Rebels. He received a $250,000 bonus from LSU following the Ole Miss playoff win, which was part of Kiffin’s contractual agreement. Any advancements in the bracket from the Rebels come in the form of playoff bonuses to Kiffin from LSU. That number increases if Ole Miss knocks out SEC champion Georgia in the upcoming Sugar Bowl quarterfinal.