Lane Kiffin met with Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter on Friday and they agreed to table a decision on the coveted coach’s status for one more week.
Carter pointed to Nov. 29, one day after the Egg Bowl, as decision day in Oxford, Miss.
Kiffin, 50, emerged as the reported top target for the coaching vacancies at Southeastern Conference rivals LSU and Florida. The triangular conference tug of war sparked viral talking points nationally and prompted public outcry from elected officials in Mississippi, all while the Rebels remain in the thick of the SEC championship and College Football Playoff pictures.
Carter granted Kiffin seven more days to plot his next move.
“Coach Kiffin and I have had many pointed and positive conversations regarding his future at Ole Miss, including meeting today with Chancellor (Glenn) Boyce,” Carter’s statement said. “While we discuss next steps, we know we cannot lose sight of what is most important – our sixth-ranked team that is poised to finish the season in historic fashion.
“Despite the outside noise, Coach Kiffin is focused on preparing our team for the Egg Bowl, and together, we want to ensure that our players and coaches can concentrate fully on next Friday’s game. This team is on the cusp of an unprecedented season, and it’s imperative they feel the support of the Ole Miss family in the week ahead.
“An announcement on Coach Kiffin’s future is expected the Saturday following the game.”
Ole Miss is 10-1 (6-1 SEC), ranks sixth in the country and is positioned to host a first-round College Football Playoff game in December if the Rebels can win at rival Mississippi State Nov. 28, the longtime state rivalry known as the Egg Bowl.
The possibility still exists that Ole Miss could reach the SEC Championship game played the first Saturday in December. With a win over Mississippi State and losses in rivalry games by Alabama (to Auburn in the Iron Bowl) and No. 3 Texas A&M (at Texas), the Rebels are booked for the conference title game by virtue of a three-way tiebreaker (SEC opponent winning percentage).
According to multiple media reports, members of Kiffin’s family recently visited Gainesville, Fla., and Baton Rouge, La., to scout out the areas should Kiffin elect to take one of those jobs. Ole Miss has no game this week and is set to return to practice on Sunday.
It also has been reported that Carter issued an ultimatum to Kiffin that he inform Ole Miss administrators of whether he’ll be staying in Oxford or taking another job before the Mississippi State game, although it’s unclear what action the school would take if he didn’t. Kiffin disputed this report in an appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” earlier this week.
Kiffin is in his sixth season at Ole Miss and his 14th as a college head coach after he was hired as the Oakland Raiders’ head coach in 2007 at 31. He was fired in his second season, then spent one season at Tennessee (2009) before leaving for Southern California (2010-13). After he was fired at USC, he rebuilt his image as Alabama offensive coordinator under Nick Saban before having success as Florida Atlantic head coach (2017-19) and parlaying that into the Ole Miss job.
Kiffin has led the Rebels to at least 10 wins in four of the past five seasons, including a program-record 11 wins in 2023. Ole Miss had three 10-win seasons since 1963 before Kiffin took the job.
–Field Level Media
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