Ole Miss fans had a strong first reaction to Lane Kiffin's return

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Ole Miss fans had a strong first reaction to Lane Kiffin's return

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Sep 19, 2026 1:46 PM ET

ESPN helped rip off the metaphorical band-aid for Lane Kiffin in his long-awaited return to Ole Miss on Saturday.

Kiffin sat for a video interview on ESPN’s “College GameDay” Saturday during the leadup to Saturday’s game in Oxford, Miss. Unsurprisingly, the moment Kiffin’s face appeared on the screen in Oxford, the assembled crowd immediately grew hostile.

The Ole Miss crowd's reaction to Lane Kiffin's appearance on College GameDay: pic.twitter.com/OVTxQTvfKK
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

The Ole Miss fans were in no mood to let the Kiffin interview go off without a hitch. At one point, the Kiffin interview was nearly drowned out by fans who broke into an “a–hole” chant.

The hostile reception to Kiffin is not remotely surprising in the wake of his controversial departure from Ole Miss to LSU following last season. The expectations have been that the Ole Miss crowd will not be kind, and the city of Oxford has even brought in an additional police presence for Saturday’s game.

“College GameDay” is, of course, no stranger to profane chants or negative crowd reactions. Still, the reactions on Saturday were unusually hostile, though it is certainly easy enough to explain.

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