New LSU head football coach Lane Kiffin has been the talk of the offseason in college football for a few reasons, but most recently due to comments in a Vanity Fair article referencing his former school, Ole Miss.
Kiffin pointed to longstanding social and racial stigmas associated with the school that represented a challenge in recruiting, which drew heavy blowback in the aftermath of the article's publication. He has since apologized for the comments. Another former LSU coach in Ed Orgeron, who also was head coach at Ole Miss from 2005-'07, joined WWL Radio this week and confirmed Kiffin's assessment.
"Yea, it was there, no question," Orgeron told WWL's Mike Detillier. "I mean, they had a history there of, you know, racism and Colonel Reb, but you know what, when we got there, the kids that we had were treated good and they had success, but we did face it in recruiting and they still have that stigma, but look, they overcame it. They got some great players. They’ve had success, graduated, went on to the NFL."
Hear the full interview with former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
Orgeron and Kiffin have an extensive history, with both coaches serving as assistants at USC earlier in their careers. Orgeron unsuccessfully attempted to hire Kiffin to his Ole Miss staff in 2005. Kiffin hired Orgeron to his Tennessee staff for a short run in Knoxville, and again to his new staff as USC head coach in 2010.
If there were challenges in recruiting for Kiffin at Ole Miss, they weren't reflected in the results. He went 55-19 during his six seasons in Oxford, including an 11-1 campaign in 2025 that led to the program's first appearance in the College Football Playoff bracket. It's also worth noting that Ole Miss is far from alone in terms of programs that hold a checkered history in that area. LSU's Tigers moniker was originally in reference to a Louisiana infantry group during the Civil War, but the school now solely focuses its branding with that of bengal Tigers, including Mike the Tiger, who lives on campus in a large enclosure.
Ole Miss has also taken steps to adjust their outward image, such as replacing the Colonel Reb mascot with Rebel the Black Bear in 2010. That has since been replaced by Tony the Landshark, though the program retains the "Rebels" moniker for its teams.
"I think that stigma is always going to stay with them," Orgeron continued, "just like other schools have a stigma, but that is definitely there at Ole Miss.”
