AD Keith Carter says Lane Kiffin knew weeks ago he would not coach Ole Miss in College Football Playoff

Lane Kiffin's absurd and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to coach Ole Miss while under contract with LSU was built on two arguments: That "everyone" in the national media thought it was a good and worthwhile idea, and that he was on track to do so until AD Keith Carter and the Ole Miss administration pulled the rug out from under him at the last minute on Sunday morning. 

"I was hoping to complete a historic six season run with this year's team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs... my request to do so was denied by Keith Carter despite the team asking him to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance," Kiffin said his Twitter post announcing his decision on Sunday.

We can all surmise who Kiffin was talking about when he said "all the national people understand why he should let me coach," as Kiffin termed it to ESPN's Marty Smith on Sunday afternoon but... no, "all the national people" did not think it was a good idea. 

As for the idea that Kiffin was on track to push his purple-and-gold thread through the red-and-blue needle until Sunday morning? I can't speak to that, but Carter can.

"There's been a lot of things he said publicly that I'm not sure are totally accurate," Carter said. Well then.

"Coach and his representation knew several weeks ago that coaching in the playoffs was not going to be an option if he was not the Ole Miss head coach," he continued. 

Then, asked point blank if Kiffin was informed for the first time at 8:30 Sunday morning he would not be allowed to continue, as he claimed, Carter said, "No. That's not accurate."

Carter went on to admit that the process drug out Saturday because of Ole Miss's potential involvement in the SEC Championship. After Texas A&M lost to Texas on Friday, the Rebels would've ascended into a rematch with Georgia in this Saturday's title game if Auburn upset Alabama in the Iron Bowl, a game that was not decided until the final minute. To be honest, it doesn't seem like Carter knows even now how Ole Miss would've handled this week -- LSU was announcing Kiffin's hire on Sunday no matter what -- but that bridge never required crossing. 

"It was very clear that coaching in the postseason was not going to be an option for Coach Kiffin a few weeks ago," Carter concluded.

As for Kiffin's third claim, that the Ole Miss players requested Kiffin remain with the team? We're not in the locker room, but Rebels center Brycen Sanders confirmed Tuesday night that that was not a unanimous request, to say the least.

Ultimately, it seems as if Kiffin was trying to will into existence a reality where all involved could proceed as if nothing ever happened, and that simply was not possible. How would Ole Miss players respond to his coaching? Who is Kiffin working for in his downtime, Ole Miss or LSU? What would the atmosphere in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium be like for the Rebels' first-round game? With three weeks between the regular season and the CFP, that's a l-o-n-g time for an open wound to fester.

Ole Miss and LSU are working together for most of Kiffin's staff to remain in Oxford working on a temporary basis for brand-new head coach Pete Golding. Time will tell how that affects the Rebels' performance in a couple weeks, but this is the only viable path forward for the program. 

And according to Carter, Kiffin knew that weeks ago.