Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin remains in headlines this fall as the coaching carousel heats up down the stretch of the college football season.
Kiffin and his Ole Miss squad have cruised to a 9-1 record to open the season with the program firmly in the College Football Playoff race after cracking the Top-10 last week [No. 6] in the rankings.
But Kiffin has social media swirling for other reasons as jobs across America come open this fall – notably the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators gigs- where he has become a hot commodity.
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum recently revealed which program he believes has the edge in the “Kiffin Sweepstakes” if he were to depart Oxford for a different program.
“In the pantheon of worst press conferences by a governor, I think Jeff Landry has retired the trophy,” Finebaum said surrounding LSU’s chances for Kiffin.
“I have never seen anything like it. I mean, it was dramatic. You literally couldn’t take your eyes off of it. But that did not help them with Lane Kiffin in my estimation.”
Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.
“I think Florida would be Lane Kiffin’s first choice, if he leaves. Now, I tend to believe he’s going to leave. I am in the minority and every time we say this, a bunch of people in Oxford put their pitchforks up and want to fight.
“Listen, Oxford’s a great place. Nobody’s saying it isn’t. But I think Florida is a better job long-term…. I think it’s unique and Kiffin has always been attracted to it for whatever reason.”
But for Kiffin, the Ole Miss shot-caller hasn’t thought about the future quite yet as he looks to lead the Rebels to a College Football Playoff berth for the first time in program history.
“I don’t know. I’m not that far down the road,” Kiffin said on Monday of his future. “I said it last week and you guys think I was joking, or it was before South Carolina. Everybody wants to talk about other jobs and everything and I think you are two or three weeks away from coaching for your own job.
“So, you better make sure you’re doing really well where you are. Because as we’ve seen out there, one (loss) might put you out of the top-10. Now two might put you out of the Top 25 and three might get you fired.
“So, I ain’t figured all that out. I’m trying to keep our winning streak, get to 8-0 at home.”
Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.
But he remains atop the betting favorites for the Florida Gators head coaching gig despite staying mum on the subject.
1. Lane Kiffin: -300
2. Eli Drinkwitz: +120
3. James Franklin: +600
4. Jedd Fisch: +600
5. Jeff Brohm: +1200
6. Brent Key: +2000
7. Jon Sumrall: +2000
8. Clark Lea: +2000
9. Alex Golesh: +2500
10. Kenny Dillingham: +2500
Other named mentioned among the betting favorites include Jon Gruden [+2500] and Brian Kelly [+5000].
As the 2025 season winds down, and the Ole Miss Rebels continue inching closer to a College Football Playoff berth, Kiffin will remain a hot topic with all eyes on which direction he goes for the 2026 season.
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