Lane Kiffin skipping Sugar Bowl after lobbying for ESPN appearence

The Ole Miss Rebels will face Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night in New Orleans — roughly 80 miles from Baton Rouge, where their former head coach, Lane Kiffin, now calls home.

Kiffin, however, won’t be making the short drive down I-10.

Instead, he’ll be courtside at LSU women’s basketball.

. @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

In the latest wrinkle of one of college football’s messiest coaching transitions, Kiffin is opting out of the Sugar Bowl altogether after ESPN declined his interest in appearing on the broadcast. According to On3’s Chris Low, Kiffin reached out to ESPN about potentially joining the booth for a segment during the game. The network apparently wasn’t receptive.

“Sources told On3 that Kiffin has even reached out to ESPN personnel about possibly appearing in the broadcast booth for a segment during the game, although sources say ESPN hasn’t been receptive.”

Kiffin had been widely expected to attend the Sugar Bowl, with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry even inviting him to the game, but with no ESPN cameo available, Kiffin will instead attend LSU’s SEC-opening women’s basketball game against Kentucky at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Even while skipping the Superdome, Kiffin still found time to jump into the discourse. After College GameDay analysts Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee, and Kirk Herbstreit all picked Georgia to beat Ole Miss, Kiffin fired back on social media.

What are you guys thinking?!?!? ⁦@CollegeGameDay⁩ Have you not watched 🇹🇹??? pic.twitter.com/RWiTgyi4zH

— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) January 1, 2026

Earlier this month, Kiffin was also rumored to appear on College GameDay ahead of the SEC Championship Game, only for plans to change at the last minute. Host Rece Davis later said Kiffin ultimately declined to appear, noting that the panel’s questions would “have to wait.”

That wasn’t the case at the Texas Bowl, where Kiffin did join ESPN’s broadcast as LSU faced Houston. During that appearance, he addressed his exit from Oxford and transition to Baton Rouge — one of several platforms he’s used to tell his side of the story, including an interview with Marty Smith and his introductory LSU press conference.

At this point, there’s little left for Kiffin to say, and Ole Miss fans probably weren’t eager for another nationally televised reminder of their former coach making the story about himself.