Lane Kiffin is done addressing the rumors for now.
The Ole Miss coach, a central figure in the LSU and Florida coaching rumor mills, didn’t exactly offer up much clarity on his future coaching the Rebels on Wednesday.
“I’m gonna stay on what I’ve done for six years, which isn’t talking about other jobs and that situation,” Kiffin said on Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference. “[Ole Miss athletic director] Keith [Carter] and I — I’ve seen him twice already today. Keith and I have a great relationship. We communicate daily on a lot of things, and I love it here, and it’s been amazing. And we’re in the season, that’s the greatest run in the history of Ole Miss at this point, having never been at this point. So I think it’s really exciting.
Head coach Lane Kiffin of the Mississippi Rebels reacts before the game against the Florida Gators. Getty Images
“I think Saturday night was amazing, and so I’m just living in the moment — it’s amazing — and our players are, too. I see their joy about practice, season, where they’re at and have so much on the line. It’s just awesome to be a part of.”
The gossip peaked this week when it was reported that LSU and Florida flew his family out for campus visits, while The Athletic claimed that Ole Miss officials gave him an ultimatum.
Kiffin denied there was an ultimatum during a Tuesday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” but that did little to quell any noise swirling around him.
Repeated inquiries about his Ole Miss future beyond Saturday’s game at Mississippi State seemingly irked him.
“Do you know something I don’t know?” he responded. “Do I expect to coach next week? Why would I not expect to coach next week? I mean, I expected to coach against Florida, too. So I don’t even understand the question of how I would not expect to coach next week? ‘Why would I be at work?’”
Head coach Lane Kiffin of the Mississippi Rebels stretches while he looks on during the first quarter of the game against the Citadel Bulldogs. Getty Images
The Rebels, coming in at No. 6 in Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings release, are 10-1 on the season, 6-1 in SEC play, good for third in the conference.
Kiffin, 50, has transformed the Ole Miss program since taking over in 2020, putting together a 54-19 record during his tenure, as well as his own reputation after early career moves that cast him as a football villain.
His Rebels contract runs through 2031, and he is reportedly the 10th-highest paid coach in college football, with the school offering to match any offer from LSU or Florida, per the Clarion Ledger.
For right now, however, Kiffin seems as if he’s just trying to get through a tumultuous week — even if another one is on tap after.
“Like I said, I’ve been saying the same thing for six years; I’m not talking about speaking on other jobs,” he said Wednesday. “I’m focused on this one. I guess that’s kind of spiraling off the question before, like ‘Are you coaching in the game?’ I don’t even understand what the question is. Of course I’m coaching, I mean unless you guys know something I don’t or I’m getting fired and I don’t know it.”