Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has been dodging reports about his status with the Rebels right now, even though Kiffin said on Wednesday that there’s been no chatter between him and the school about a departure.
With a number of college football coaching jobs, like at LSU and Florida, still open, Kiffin’s name has been out there. One person reportedly even took a picture that supposedly showed Kiffin’s family visiting Florida recently.
What Does Insider Say About Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin?
It should be noted that Kiffin has not clearly come out and stated publicly that he’s committed to Ole Miss. With this sense of vagueness flying around, it leaves Kiffin open to more guessing. One college football insider, though, isn’t buying Kiffin’s recent words.
On Thursday, during an appearance on ESPN’s morning show “Get Up,” On3 college football insider Josh Pate said he thinks that Kiffin will leave Ole Miss.
“I think, if I had to place my money right now, he’ll be somewhere other than Oxford, Miss., coaching next year,” Pate said. “What I do believe is there’s been a lot of window speculation. By that, I mean if you’re a Florida booster, you have information that he may have visited Gainesville.
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“What you may not have known is, well, his family rather, his family is going to be in Baton Rouge the next day, doing their due diligence, shopping around,” Pate said. “The problem is that leads to really widespread speculation that the deal is done. I don’t think a deal has been done, at least by the time I woke up this morning.
“I think he’s really back and forth and I do think, I may have given you a different answer last week, that more than likely he’ll be out of there,” Pate continued. “But where it really gets interesting is this time next week, we’re getting ready for the Egg Bowl. We’re getting ready for Mississippi State-Ole Miss.”
In his comments, Pate also said that Ole Miss leaders might want an answer from Kiffin about his coaching future at the school before the Egg Bowl game takes place.
Right now, Ole Miss is 10-1 on the season, 6-1 in SEC play, and at No. 6 in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings. The Rebels are in a great position to get a College Football Playoff spot right now. According to the PFSN CFB Offense Impact metrics, Ole Miss has a CFB Offense Impact Score of 86.5 and grades out to a B.
Kiffin’s ongoing drama around his coaching situation might not sit well with Ole Miss players. There’s no confirmation of this at this time, but players who don’t know whether their coach will be there next season, or even next week, may not feel too happy.
The Kiffin coaching drama will not end, though, until either Kiffin definitely says he’s staying or departs for a new school. It’s highly possible that Kiffin goes to either LSU or Florida, two football programs that he personally holds in high regard.
