Lane Kiffin chased something better. Ole Miss proved he already had it | Opinion

OXFORD, MS – Here’s the silliest, the saddest, the most galling part about Lane Kiffin leaving this place.

He interrupted the best stretch of success he’d ever experienced, and he left with the zenith still on the table.

Kiffin built Mississippi into a monster. He and the administration and the donors who supported him put in the hard work to turn Ole Miss from an afterthought into a force.

Just as Kiffin stood to reap the sweetest rewards, he left. He couldn’t resist LSU’s siren call, just when the Rebels were at their strongest. When Kiffin returned 10 months later to stand across from the beast he helped create, it swallowed him and LSU.

Ole Miss won 32-24 in a night of euphoria meets retribution at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Thanks in part to Kiffin, there’s nothing Ole Miss can’t achieve. Including wins against teams like LSU, just as it beat Georgia in the playoff, mere weeks after Kiffin literally jetted out of town.

As Mississippi piled up points and built a big first-half lead, Kiffin looked on from the visitor’s sideline with a thousand-yard stare.

Kiffin described this week, and this night, as “really emotional,” in ways he didn’t expect.

“I…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/sports/