Roman Harper labels Lane Kiffin 'The Joker' ahead of LSU at Ole Miss in 2026

In September 2026, the eyes of the college football world will turn to Oxford. Lane Kiffin will make his return to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as LSU’s head coach when the Tigers take on Ole Miss in Week 3.

To SEC Network analyst Roman Harper, Kiffin’s position reminds him of a Batman villain. He likened the LSU head coach to The Joker. That comparison wasn’t because of any maniacal laugh, grand scheme or brilliant master plan he will craft for the matchup, though.

Instead, Harper said – invoking Alfred Pennyworth – some men just want to watch the world burn. Given Kiffin’s exit from Ole Miss as he left for LSU after the 2025 regular season, Harper sees Kiffin’s role in the rivalry as The Joker, in a sense.

“I think he’s The Joker in all of this,” Harper said during the SEC schedule reveal show. “The fact that, The Joker, you think he’s going to have some kind of brilliant plan or, like, some grand scheme of why they’re doing actually what they’re doing. No. He just wants to see everything burn sometimes, and that is okay.

“Lane’s going to be exactly who Lane is all the time. I’m kind of here for it. It’s fine. I think, ultimately, the game’s still going to come down to execution.”

Roman Harper: ‘Ole Miss is going to want this game, emotionally’

The storylines will be aplenty when LSU makes that trip to The Grove to take on Ole Miss. From an emotional standpoint, Roman Harper pointed out how the Rebels – both as a program and as a fan base – are probably going to feel about their former coach coming back. Lane Kiffin’s track record with returns to his former schools speaks for itself.

The situation is sure to loom over the rivalry between Ole Miss and LSU or years to come, Harper said. Next year’s game will set the table for the future of the two teams’ matchups.

“Ole Miss is going to want this game, emotionally,” Harper said. “The school, Oxford itself, all of these things that feel personally that they helped Lane Kiffin become this better person and helped him grow in all these other ways, to only see Lane Kiffin leave you the first chance that he could to another place that you may not think is better than you. That ultimately, he chose somebody else.

“It’s going to be a great … soap opera that continues to go. And every time these two teams match up, this is all we’re going to talk about over and over and over again. It will not stop.”