Hot coaching commodity Lane Kiffin has a tough decision: Stay or go?
Twelve years ago, coach Lane Kiffin was humiliated and fired by USC athletic director Pat Haden on the airport tarmac at 3 a.m. just after the Trojans had flown in from Phoenix after being defeated 62-41 by Arizona State.
OK, maybe it wasn’t asphalt, maybe it was the Trojan horse story, maybe the sudden fire occurred in a small room next to the runway.
Either way, the memory is burned into Kiffin’s heart and mind, helping motivate him to increase his success on the field and strike a heartfelt balance in his personal life.
Now the situation has changed. Kiffin, 50, led Ole Miss to a No. 5 national ranking and a 10-1 record; It was the fourth time in the last five years that the Rebels won at least 10 games. Apparently, he had lost his reputation for his aloofness and me-first attitude that bothered him. failed NFL head coach At 32 years old and an assistant from Alabama, he was let go by Nick Saban days before the national championship game because he was too focused on his next job.
Yet here we are again, apparently Kiffin thinking the unthinkable. Would Florida or Louisiana State really abandon Ole Miss, other SEC schools and established national powers in the head coach search on the eve of the College Football Playoff?
A young fan shows his support for Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin during the second half of the game against Florida on Nov. 15, 2025 in Oxford, Miss.
(Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press)
Kiffin’s ex-wife Layla — they remain on friendly terms — and 17-year-old son Knox recently took private jets to Gainesville, Fla., presumably to check out the livability and excitement of the next potential entry on Kiffin’s resume. and flew to Baton Rouge, La.
Ole Miss is well aware of Kiffin’s impending decision and clearly wants to know the answer ahead of the Rebels’ regular-season finale against Mississippi State on Nov. 28. However, Kiffin denied rumors that Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter had given him an ultimatum to make the decision sooner.
“Yeah, that’s absolutely not true,” Kiffin told “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN on Tuesday. “There was no ultimatum or anything like that. And so, like a lot of things that come out of there, I don’t know where it came from. Like I said, man, we’re having a lot of fun. I love it here.”
In fairness to Kiffin, the urgency of making decisions now rather than later in the season is a function of today’s college football recruiting calendar and transfer portal. The signing period for high schools begins on December 3rd and the transfer portal opens on January 2nd.
The first round of the CFP will take place on December 19 and 20. The quarter-finals will be held on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Florida and LSU can’t wait that long to hire a coach.
What to do? Most experienced experts believe that he should not compromise.
“Kiffin should stay and see the season through; try to win, try to reach the Final Four or beyond, create memories and make the deep connections that coaching is supposed to be about,” longtime columnist Dan Wetzel said. Wrote for ESPN.
Reasons to transfer to LSU or Florida are that both schools are in talent-rich states with large fan bases and deep tradition. The ceiling is higher than at Oxford and the stands are fuller, Miss. Additionally, coaches in the SEC’s established jurisdictions tend to dig for years. Who knows when a similar opportunity may arise?
Kiffin’s dilemma is understandable. But Old Miss executives vividly remember 2022, when Kiffin was sued by Auburn, allowing the problem to continue and sabotage a potentially great season. The Rebels were 8-1 when the rumors began and have since suffered four straight losses.
No one at Ole Miss wants another collapse because Kiffin’s eyes were elsewhere again. His decision is difficult and he cannot wait.
