Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels are preparing for the upcoming game against the Florida Gators on Saturday. The game is expected to be in the Rebels’ favor, given their 9-1 record in the 2025 season.
Meanwhile, discussion surrounding Kiffin’s potential move to other coaching destinations remains a hot topic of discussion.
CFB Analyst Drops Verdict on Lane Kiffin’s Next Career Move
This week, popular analysts Colin Cowherd and Josh Pate discussed several trending college football topics, where Cowherd asked Pate whether he believed Kiffin might be eyeing a move to the NFL.
“Yeah, I think he is,” Pate said (29:30). “I think several of them are. I think there’s some names considering the NFL that would totally and completely put jaws on the ground if the names ever got public. I think these guys are always considering the NFL.
“The kind of mentality it takes to succeed at the highest level of college football, especially if you specialize on a side of the ball, goes hand in hand with the kind of mentality that thinks I could win in the NFL. I want to test myself against the best. I want to see how my offense does. Especially with Lane, like you’ve got the Oakland Raiders chapter in his past. You don’t think he wants to make good on that, dude?”
Kiffin has led the Rebels to multiple 10-win seasons and their first-ever 11-win campaign in 2023, culminating in a New Year’s Six bowl win. His strategic use of the transfer portal to quickly reload talent has played a big role in that success.
However, Cowherd said that a current college coach recently pointed out some recruiting challenges Kiffin faces at Ole Miss.
“He said, ‘Offensive recruits will follow the coach, right?'” Collin said (31:20). “They’ll follow Sark, Lane. Offensive players they want to know who the coach is, what the system is. Great defensive players, they want to go to Georgia, Texas, and LSU. Not about schemes. I want to get taken care of. I want (NIL check). I got to play in the trenches. That’s the limitation of Old Miss.
“And so this coach said, ‘Lane knows he’s limited. When he faces the big dogs in the SEC, he’ll have to outscore them. He’s not stopping them. And so that’s just something I think that’s something to think about.'”
It remains uncertain whether Kiffin will leave Ole Miss, as he has been linked to other jobs, but has also received a contract extension. Following Ole Miss’s seventh win of the 2025 season, his contract was automatically extended through December 2031.
Meanwhile, Kiffin’s name has resurfaced in NFL conversations, particularly following the New York Giants’ decision to part ways with head coach Brian Daboll after a 2-8 start. Kiffin is seen by many as a strong potential replacement, and his Ole Miss ranks No. 5 in the PFSN College Football Playoff Ranking.