The Ole Miss Rebels will take on a familiar face in their quarterfinal game in the Sugar Bowl, facing the Georgia Bulldogs. The Rebels lost 43-35 to the Dawgs earlier this season.
Ole Miss has a new head coach for its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance in Pete Golding. Ole Miss named him the school's permanent head coach shortly after Lane Kiffin left for LSU. But Kiffin, who reportedly wanted to coach his team through the playoff, might make an appearance at his former team's game against Georgia.
Here's everything you need to know about if Kiffin will be at Thursday evening's game.
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Is Lane Kiffin at the Ole Miss game today?
On Dec. 30, Yahoo Sports' insider Ross Dellenger, reported that the new LSU Tigers head coach may attend the quarterfinal between Ole Miss and Georgia. Dellenger added that he might be going with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.
The report added that officials at LSU and Landry "did not dispute" that the two are considering attending the game, and security plans were being put in-place for their arrival.
On3 additionally reported that Kiffin has reached out to ESPN about appearing in the booth during the broadcast, but the network has not been receptive.
But on Jan. 1, Jacques Doucet of WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge reported that Kiffin is expected to attend the LSU women's basketball game on Thursday evening instead:
. @LSUfootball @Lane_Kiffin is expected to attend @LSUwbkb SEC opener at the PMAC tonight vs @KentuckyWBB, per #LSU. Kiffin eager to see @KimMulkey and her No. 5 Tigers on the floor.
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) January 1, 2026
Kiffin attended LSU's Texas Bowl game against Houston in Houston, Texas earlier this week, even making an appearance in the broadcast booth:
Who is with Lane Kiffin?
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry could reportedly attend the game with Kiffin. During Brian Kelly's firing from LSU earlier this season, Landry was heavily involved in the decision due to LSU's lack of a school president at the time.
Landry also made public comments about former Tigers Athletic Director Scott Woodward. In the hours following him publicly calling out Woodward for signing Kelly to a 10-year, $90 million contract in 2022, Woodward and LSU mutually decided to part ways.
The Tigers named interim AD Verge Ausberry the school's permanent athletic director shortly after Woodward's departure.
MORE LANE KIFFIN NEWS:
- Lane Kiffin spurns Ole Miss for LSU in final decision for 2026
- Why Ole Miss won't have Lane Kiffin for College Football Playoff
- How much money LSU is giving Lane Kiffin to leave Ole Miss
- Complete winners, losers from Lane Kiffin's move to LSU
Where is Ole Miss vs. Georgia being played?
Thursday evening's game is being played in the SuperDome in New Orleans, La. New Orleans is just 80 miles southeast of Baton Rouge. Ole Miss is listed as a 6.5-point underdog.
How much does Lane Kiffin make when Ole Miss wins?
Believe it or not, Kiffin is still getting bonus money from Ole Miss' CFP run. He got an extra $250 million after the Rebels' first-round win over Tulane.
MORE LANE KIFFIN NEWS:
- Meet Pete Golding, Ole Miss' new head coach with Lane Kiffin gone
- Lane Kiffin's complete history of controversial exits in football
Why did Lane Kiffin leave Ole Miss?
The LSU job was an opportunity too good for Kiffin to pass up. The program's track record of national championships and NFL players drafted meant Kiffin could reach new levels of winning as a head coach.
He was previously Ole Miss head coach until Nov. 30, where he spent six seasons and finished with a 55-19 record. He left Ole Miss shortly after the Rebels' regular season ended with a win over Mississippi State. The win helped Ole Miss reach its first-ever 11-win season.
But in the hours following the win, Kiffin's formal announcement of his decision was reportedly delayed due to his attempt to continue coaching his team through the playoff.
According to John Talty of CBS Sports, Kiffin threatened to take his offensive staff with him to Baton Rouge if he couldn't continue coaching:
The Ole Miss coach wasn't going to leave for Baton Rouge without a fight, though. In a conversation described as tense, Kiffin didn't want to back down from his desire to coach the team through the postseason.
When Ole Miss showed no interest in allowing him to do so, Kiffin, according to sources, threatened to take the offensive staff with him immediately if Carter and Boyce didn't relent. They held firm; Kiffin would not be coaching the team in the playoff.
As word of Kiffin's tactics spread, multiple Ole Miss football players confronted him in his office Sunday about it. Kiffin refused to directly answer whether he had told his on-field offensive staffers that if they didn't get on the plane with him to Baton Rouge the next day, they wouldn't have a spot on his LSU staff.
"I'm not making them go," Kiffin told the players. "They can do whatever they want."
"Extremely difficult decision," Kiffin said in his introductory presser at LSU the following Monday. "In that, we tried every single thing possible to continue to coach the team through the playoffs and to continue to coach the players. In the end that was their decision, and we totally respect that and appreciate the time and energy that we tried to figure out a plan to do the best thing at the time for those players."
We'll see if Kiffin ends up cheering on his former team in New Orleans. You can get Ole Miss fans will have some words for him, if so, after such a messy exit.