He's an egomaniac who chases the greener grass. He's not about developing kids or building a legacy at a program (which he could have done at Ole Miss). He sees bright, shiny LSU with their recruiting prowess, no in-state conference rival, and rabid fan base. It's obviously not about the money because Ole Miss was going to pay whatever LSU offered. I've heard some SEC apologists say it's more than his own income, it's the income for his coaches, but I've not seen that verified anywhere and again, Ole Miss was willing to do whatever it took.
I get it when a coach at a lesser program dreams of making it into the big time, but Kiffin has lived in the big time.
He's another Brian Kelly; a sanctimonious ***** who only cares about himself.
Players on Ole Miss' leadership council have already come out and said Kiffin's statement he released is "not what happened" -- i.e., the players weren't crestfallen that he couldn't continue coaching.