Just blocks away from a busy Ole Miss campus, residents of the small town of Oxford roamed 'The Square' on a Wednesday night that felt like a perceived calm before the storm that will have this city roaring over the next few days.
asserted
city → roam → days
An Ella Langley concert is scheduled for Thursday night, serving as an expensive kickoff party for a game that has drawn the attention of the entire college football world.
asserted
that → schedule → world
Students strolled from campus to restaurants such as City Grocery, while visitors looking to stock up on Ole Miss gear stopped by Game Day Apparel for powder-blue hats featuring the phrase "Spot the Ball."
asserted
visitors → stroll → Ball
Folks flocked to 'Off-Square Books' to hear my colleague John Talty discuss his new book on Lane Kiffin, which has already generated notably unfavorable reactions from those within Lane Kiffin's inner circle since its release.
asserted
which → flock → release
Inside Ajax Diner on Thursday afternoon, conversations shifted between the former head coach and the 2026 Ole Miss football team led by Pete Golding.
asserted
conversations → shift → Golding
But ... one talking point is persistent inside the landmark restaurant that opened in 1997.
asserted
that → open → 1997
"We really need to win this game," one diner attendee said while clad in powder blue gear.
asserted
attendee → need → gear
"I can't imagine how that bastard will act if they [LSU] win."
asserted
they → imagine → ?
Maybe it'd be a different story if the outgoing coach didn’t try to burn it down
There are plenty of people around Oxford who claim to know Lane Kiffin, whether through his six years in town or relationships built through late-night voice messages and text conversations.
uncertain
who → try → messages
According to people who have spent time around him, the idea that Kiffin is a true "people person" remains debatable.
"He didn’t really have use for you if there wasn’t something coming on the other end," Mike, from Oxford told OutKick.
uncertain
Mike → accord → OutKick
"Sure, he embraced the town, but he was spending more time in the yoga studios than the actual community.
asserted
he → embrace → community
I'm not judging.
asserted
I → judge → ?
"Obviously, you could tell he changed his life while here in Oxford.
uncertain
he → tell → Oxford
But, that doesn’t make him a good person, considering how he tried to burn this place to the ground on his way to LSU."
About that burning to the ground.
asserted
he → make → ground
If Lane had just left for Baton Rouge without all of the chaos that came with him trying to pigeon-hole his way into coaching Ole Miss during their playoff run, maybe the feelings would be a tad bit different.
asserted
feelings → leave → run
But, that's not Lane, especially when he doesn’t get his way.
asserted
he → get → way
From assistant coaches pulling double-duty, flying back-and-forth between Oxford and Baton Rouge, to Kiffin just waiting for the Rebels to lose in the Sugar Bowl so he could at least feel better about his decision to leave during the most chaotic time in Ole Miss history, nothing was cordial about his exit.
uncertain
nothing → pull → exit
It's one thing to get a divorce.
asserted
It → get → divorce
It's another to take things out of spite or try to empty the bank account on the way out of a marriage.
asserted
It → take → marriage
"He's calling players while they are in meetings in hopes of negotiating a deal with their agents to get them to transfer once the season ended," one Ole Miss donor told OutKick.
asserted
donor → call → OutKick
"The man was doing everything in his power to create obstacles for the Rebels during their CFP run."
That even included quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who would return to Ole Miss for another season after being granted an injunction against the NCAA.
asserted
who → do → NCAA
Chambliss makes his return, through a court case.
asserted
Chambliss → make → case
Those seem to follow Kiffin
When the wheels were put into motion for Trinidad Chambliss to petition the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility, the thought process behind the move came from those within the Ole Miss athletic department.
asserted
process → seem → department
After alleging that a health issue during his time at Ferris State forced him into having to take a medical redshirt, the NCAA denied his waiver for an additional season.
asserted
NCAA → allege → season
So, led by lawyer Tom Mars, after a call from Lane Kiffin, a lawsuit was filed against the NCAA in a small town court in Pittsboro, Mississippi.
asserted
lawsuit → lead → Pittsboro
We all know what happened from there, with Chambliss receiving his injunction by a local judge who shed a few tears while reading his order to the courtroom filled with supporters.
asserted
who → know → supporters
The problem for Lane Kiffin was that he was thinking, before the case ended up in a courtroom, that Chambliss would follow him to Baton Rouge.
asserted
Chambliss → think → Rouge
Obviously, that part of the plan did not come to fruition, with Grove Collective founder Walker Jones putting together a deal for Chambliss that would keep him in Oxford, and away from the guy who tried his best to steal as much talent as possible from the Rebels roster.
asserted
who → come → roster
"This school was going to fight like heck to keep Trinidad and Kewan [Lacy]," another Ole Miss booster told OutKick.
asserted
booster → go → OutKick
"We couldn’t lose those two guys, especially to Lane.
asserted
We → lose → Lane
This town has embraced those two, along with the entire team, like they are family.
asserted
they → embrace → team
"Everywhere you go in Oxford, there are signs with their names or faces on it.
asserted
you → go → it
When they decided to stay, we knew how much that bothered him [Kiffin].
asserted
that → decide → him
I think in some different world, we would’ve paid them double, just to piss Lane off.
asserted
we → think → Lane
He wasn’t going to get the entire family."
asserted
He → go → family
And it seems as though court cases have just magically appeared around Kiffin, with the most recent battle taking place in Baton Rouge when Zxavian Harris and Dae'Quan Wright sued the NCAA for an additional season after exiting NFL preseason camps.
asserted
Harris → seem → camps
As for Kiffin's interesting mind, even if LSU was not technically involved in the case, most of the football players involved in the Baton Rouge court were presumably headed to LSU.
asserted
most → involve → LSU
Well, there was maybe one player, Ethan Johnson, that supposedly went against the grain and ended up at South Carolina.
asserted
that → be → Carolina
"Somebody mentioned that when that one player [Johnson] decided to sign with the Gamecocks over LSU, ole Lane tried to get him taken out of that case in Louisiana," an Oxford local who had a relationship with Kiffin told OutKick.
asserted
who → mention → OutKick
"Who knows, but it wouldn’t surprise me because that's how he operates.
asserted
he → know → me
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
