Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin answered questions on the SEC teleconference on Wednesday – and almost all of them were directed toward where he will be coaching in 2026.
Kiffin did not divulge whether his family and rumored trips to Gainesville, Fla., and Baton Rouge, La. The same coach who spent the Rebels' bye week dodging through a segment on "The Pat McAfee Show" and tweeting excerpts from "The Pivot Year: 365 Days To Become the Person You Truly Want To Be" is taking all of us along for the ride.
Kiffin does expect to coach the Egg Bowl on Nov. 27.
"Why would I not expect to coach next week?" Kiffin responded.
Have an amazing day 💙❤️🇹🇹🏈🔥 pic.twitter.com/rwF71Hg16e
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) November 19, 2025
Uh, past experience, maybe?
Sure Kiffin might simply be toying with everyone like he so often does on social media.
But what if he's not?
A move to LSU or Florida in the midst of the breakthrough season at Ole Miss – one that almost assuredly will continue in the College Football Playoff for the first time – would be the most Kiffin exit ever, and that's saying something. It also has the potential to be the ugliest one, too.
That's saying a lot more.
On Wednesday, the latest excerpt Kiffin tweeted from "The Pivot Year" ended with, "Sometimes, holding on isn't about muscling through, but knowing what you are meant to release along the way."
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Will Lane Kiffin leave Ole Miss before the College Football Playoff?
Let's play this scenario out.
Ole Miss, currently 10-1, plays Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Nov. 28, an in-state rivalry that is no stranger to outlandish moments. Remember when Ole Miss receiver Elijah Moore was penalized for pretending to urinate like a dog during the 2019 game?
That was one year before Kiffin's arrival. Now, the Lane Train has a chance to beat the Bulldogs for the fifth time in six years – which hasn't been done since a stretch from 1984-89.
Ole Miss is 39-11 since 2022. The only Power 4 programs with better records in that stretch are Georgia (48-5), Ohio State (46-6), Oregon (44-7), Michigan (44-8) and Alabama (40-10).
LSU (35-15) and Florida (22-16) are not on that list. Kiffin has built the best program in the recent stretch of CFB that hasn't reached the CFP, and that likely will be rectified in a few weeks given the Rebels have hit the 10-win barrier in a crowded SEC race. Ole Miss also still has an outside chance to make the SEC championship game.
So, what happens if Kiffin does take the Florida or LSU job?
There is no guarantee Ole Miss would let Kiffin coach the rest of the season. It isn't difficult to imagine all the things that could go wrong if a lame duck head coach was on the sidelines for a home playoff game.
Why would Ole Miss let Kiffin coach through the early signing period from Dec. 3-5? Why would any school who hires him?
This would be the worst-case scenario for the Rebels. Ole Miss is on track to host a first-round College Football Playoff game. Imagine playing that game with Kiffin on the sideline but heading to Florida or LSU. Now, imagine him not being there at all. It's about even, right?
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Lane Kiffin's history of coaching exits
In 2008, Kiffin, 33, was fired from his first head coaching job with the Oakland Raiders after just 20 games. The late Al Davis used a projector and a Powerpoint presentation while describing the process of firing Kiffin on Sept. 30, 2008.
Kiffin then took the job at Tennessee, where he stayed one season before for USC. That series of events shook up Knoxville, Tenn. According to The Tennessean, "as soon as the students caught wind of what was going down, hundreds of them rushed over to the football complex to protest." Kiffin held a short press conference, but he was off to USC.
The last time Kiffin was in Neyland Stadium in 2021, he had to dodge golf balls and other objects Tennessee fans threw on the field in the final minutes after a controversial call.
Oral histories have been written about the time Kiffin was fired on a tarmac – the inglorious end to his tenure with the Trojans after a 62-41 loss at Arizona State on Sept. 8, 2013.
Kiffin then became an offensive coordinator at Alabama, where he reinvented his career under Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide won a national championship with Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry in 2015. Yet Saban relieved Kiffin of his duties after a 17-7 victory against Washington in a College Football Playoff semifinal on Dec. 31, 2016. Kiffin took the FAU job, and he was replaced by Steve Sarkisian.
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Will Lane Kiffin leave Ole Miss?
Somewhat ironically, Sarkisian spent Wednesday reiterating his strong desire to remain at Texas despite rumors the Longhorns coach might have interest in the NFL. Kiffin's tone was nowhere near the same on the SEC teleconference.
Kiffin, 50, has taken us along for all of those experiences, which means we've become accustomed to expecting the expected – even if he really has actually...truly...no like for real life matured as a head coach before and after the stint at Alabama.
Kiffin was 40-36 between the stints with Oklahoma, Tennessee and USC. He's 80-32 through FAU and Ole Miss. There is no doubt he is an excellent coach, and one who delights in trolling on social media both intentionally and unintentionally.
It would still be shocking if he left Ole Miss in the middle of a CFP run. Perhaps the last few weeks have been a performative act. Kiffin earned a one-year extension with the Rebels this year that pushes his contract through 2031. Florida reportedly was interviewing Tulane coach Jon Sumrall on Wednesday, until they weren't. LSU does not appear close to hiring a coach. Maybe this is all a charade because Kiffin enjoys stirring it up. That was on Day 224 "The Pivot Year."
Forget out the next 100-plus days. We want to see what the next week brings.