LSU coach Lane Kiffin expressed regret over the manner of his departure from Ole Miss, acknowledging he mishandled the transition before the Rebels' College Football Playoff appearance last season. Kiffin stated he should have accepted Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter's decision immediately rather than attempting to coach the team after agreeing to replace Brian Kelly at LSU.

Kiffin reflected that after guiding Ole Miss to an 11-1 regular season record, he considered offers from Florida and LSU. Upon informing Carter of his decision to leave for LSU, Kiffin spent two days trying to coach the Rebels in their CFP debut. He now wishes he had simply stated his intention to leave and moved on, comparing the situation to a difficult divorce.

His departure also caused friction when he didn't allow all his assistants to return to coach Ole Miss in the CFP. Kiffin noted that his former defensive coordinator, Pete Golding, had "one issue about what he was doing to the staff." Kiffin also touched on a previous controversial remark about elite recruits and Ole Miss's lack of diversity, calling it "bad timing and bad usage of the word." He has since reduced his social media activity, a challenge from his son, Knox.