The boos will come Saturday night. So will the resentment.When Lane Kiffin jogs into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for the first time as LSU’s coach, he won’t be returning as a beloved former coach getting a standing ovation. He’ll be returning as the man Ole Miss fans believe left them at the altar.Kiffin walked away with Ole Miss preparing for the first College Football Playoff run in school history.The departure left behind hard feelings that remain very much alive in Oxford. It wasn’t just that Kiffin left. It was what happened next.As detailed in John Talty’s forthcoming biography, Lane Being Lane: The Story of Lane Kiffin, College Football’s Agent of Chaos, Kiffin wasn’t merely moving on to LSU. He was actively attempting to bring key Ole Miss players with him, including quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, whose unexpected rise helped fuel the Rebels’ playoff run.Toppmeyer: Lane Kiffin would love to stick it to Ole Miss. And take home a souvenirExcerpt: Long before Lane Kiffin stared down the SEC, he was a high school coach’s headacheAccording to attorney Tom Mars, Kiffin became intensely invested in Chambliss’ eligibility appeal, frequently checking for updates and making little effort to disguise why.Ultimately, Ole Miss fought off LSU’s pursuit. The Rebels convinced Chambliss to stay, retained star running back Kewan Lacy and advanced into the playoff under new coach Pete Golding. But the episode only deepened the divide between Kiffin and the program he left behind.Now the architect of that chaos returns to Oxford with a top-10 LSU team, national championship aspirations and a spotlight he has never exactly tried to avoid.The college football world already would’ve been watching. Talty’s reporting adds another layer to a game that was personal long before kickoff.***Three days before Ole Miss’s home playoff game against Tulane, Tom Mars got a curious voicemail. “Tom, this is Lane. Please call me.”Mars, a former general counsel for Walmart, had never talked to Lane Kiffin before in his life. He was aware of him, obviously, but wasn’t sure the message was even authentic. When he checked with a friend that the phone number was really Kiffin’s, he became intrigued about what the new LSU head coach wanted. Over the phone, Kiffin explained to him the Trinidad Chambliss situation. Chambliss became a national revelation in his lone season at Ole Miss after he replaced an injured Austin Simmons and never let go of the starting job. There was something special about Chambliss that seemed to make everyone around him better. Despite not starting the first two games, he finished the season with 3,937 passing yards and 22 touchdowns. Chambliss was trying for another year of eligibility but was facing an NCAA hurdle. Mars had developed a reputation as a bulldog attorney who wasn’t afraid to grapple with the NCAA, privately or publicly. Interestingly, he had previously represented former Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt and played a role in the Hugh F
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