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By Anne Erickson
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On Sunday, Lane Kiffin announced his decision to accept the head-coaching position with the LSU Tigers following a successful stint with the Ole Miss Rebels.
Kiffin and Ole Miss defeated Mississippi State 38-19 in the Egg Bowl on Friday to close out the regular season with an 11-1 record. It ended up being the last game Kiffin coached for the Rebels.
"After a lot of prayer and time spent with family, I made the difficult decision to accept the head coaching position at LSU," Kiffin said in a statement. "I was hoping to complete a historic six season run with this year's team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs, capitalizing on the team’s incredible success and their commitment to finish strong, and investing everything into a playoff run with guardrails in place to protect the program in any areas of concern."
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He added that his request was denied by athletic director Keith Carter even though the team wanted him to continue coaching through that playoff run.
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So, how does Kiffin's family feel about the decision? His son, Knox, 16, will have to leave his high school football team, Oxford High, which he just led to the Mississippi playoffs. Oxford fell to Tupelo 21-20 in the class 7A semifinals -- a game in which Knox threw three touchdown passes.
But Knox seems to be behind his father's decision. After his dad released his official statement, Knox took to Instagram to say, "Thank you Oxford," with a heart hands emoji.
Knox is a class of 2028 quarterback who started his football career as a freshman in Southern California. Then, when his father reconciled with mom Layla Kiffin, they made the move to Oxford, Mississippi, where he became the starting QB for the Oxford High School Chargers.
Though Knox doesn't have a star rating from any major recruiting services like 247Sports or Rivals, he does have a handful of offers from college programs already including SMU, Arkansas State, East Carolina, FIU, Murray State, and Western Kentucky.
His sister is dating LSU linebacker Whit Weeks, who commented on the post, stating, "Son."
As for whether Lane's son would ever play for him at LSU, he's previously said that he wouldn't play for his father in college. But now that his dad is at LSU, that door may be opened just slightly.
In Lane's farewell note, he said that he'd always look back fondly at his time in Oxford as he moves to the next chapter of his college football career.
"While I am looking forward to a new start with a unique opportunity at LSU, I will forever cherish the incredible six years I spent at Ole Miss," he said. "And I will be rooting hard for the team to complete their mission and bring a championship to Oxford."
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