INDIANAPOLIS — Ole Miss defensive lineman Zxavian Harris didn’t hold back from critiquing former coach Lane Kiffin following the Rebels’ Sugar Bowl victory on Jan. 1. At the NFL Combine on Wednesday, Harris reiterated his position against the coach who bolted Ole Miss for rival LSU before the College Football Playoff began.
“When Kiffin was there, he was telling us like almost every day, don’t believe the rumors,” Harris said. “Like he’s not gonna leave, to keep us focused. But by the time it came, everybody was starstruck. He told us not to believe the rumors. We should have believed it, and he just left out of nowhere.”
Ole Miss ended its season at 13-2 overall with a CFP semifinal loss to Miami.
Rumors swirled in November about Kiffin’s future, with LSU and Florida as possible suitors. Kiffin announced he had accepted LSU’s job offer two days after the Rebels’ regular season concluded but three weeks before the CFP began. Kiffin brought several Ole Miss assistants with him, but the schools had to reach agreements allowing them to coach each round of the CFP while working for LSU. It created a chaotic environment at Ole Miss, which beat Tulane in the first round on campus, then toppled Georgia in a CFP quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl.
Following the Rebels’ 39-34 win over Georgia, Harris blasted Kiffin, saying he was trying to “steal the shine” off the Rebels’ accomplishments by attempting to join the broadcast booth. Harris initially thought Kiffin was playing with people before accepting the LSU job and said Wednesday that Kiffin’s trolling is “my cup of tea. I like to see things like that.”
“I was pretty upset,” Harris said. “A lot of people, like younger cats, they were there for Kiffin and stuff. And since Kiffin left, they were just heartbroken. But we got better towards the season ended.”
Harris said the team became closer through the adversity.
“That team bond that we built was even tighter,” Harris said, “probably the best team bond I ever had since being at Ole Miss. To be real, since the coaches left, they just made us get closer. Like, a team really just need the players. Like the coach can tell you what to do, but like the players, like, do it.”
Harris praised new coach Pete Golding’s leadership through Kiffin’s exit and how he navigated a difficult time. Golding was Kiffin’s defensive coordinator and was elevated after Kiffin left for LSU.
“The beginning of it, like he kept it real with us, straightforward and him saying that to us really made us come together,” Harris said.
“It’s gonna blast off. I know it’s gonna be way better than what Kiffin had did to it.”