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By Cameron Kiszla
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Lane Kiffin's departure from the Ole Miss Rebels ahead of the College Football Playoff created a great deal of chaos for now-permanent head coach Pete Golding, but it also provided him a selling point when it came to building next year's squad.
Golding took over for the postseason and ultimately fell in the semifinals, and when it came time to prepare for 2026, Golding knew he'd need to keep quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy if he wanted another shot at a title.
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In this era of free transfers and NIL, Chambliss and Lacy had a chance to find a new team and make a small fortune in the process.
So how did Golding keep them? He used their former coach as a case study.
'Google His Name Right Now'
Per ESPN's David Hale, Golding brought up how the fanbase turned on Kiffin after he announced his departure for LSU.
"Y’all two created a legacy in one season that’s gonna be hard for anybody to overtake, and for what’s going on now, for Coach Kiffin to leave — go Google Lane Kiffin," he said. "I had them both do it in my office. Google Lane Kiffin, the dude they’d have built a statue of here three days ago. Google his name right now. They wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire. They’ll do the same thing to y'all to [if you leave]."
While the vitriol directed at Kiffin during his departure was enormous, it didn't have to be that way.
Golding pointed out to Chambliss and Lacy the benefits of staying and continuing to build on that legacy.
“Football’s gonna end," he explained. "What are you going to use? You gotta use an alumni base to be able to get you a job. Where are you gonna bring your kids to? What jersey are they wearing? ... But if you come out and say I’m going to continue to build on the legacy I’ve created, what that’s going to do for you and this fan base and the alumni for the rest of your life, I don’t give a [expletive] where you go or what they pay you, you’ll never amount to that much.”
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