Will Lane Kiffin leave Ole Miss? What to know about latest rumors and contract with Rebels

Jeff Hauser

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Will Lane Kiffin leave Ole Miss? What to know about latest rumors and contract with Rebels image

Ole Miss Rebels coach Lane Kiffin once joked that his name pops up in coaching rumors “every November.”

The mill is working overtime in October, and Kiffin is again one of the hottest names amid high-profile openings at Florida and LSU.

Kiffin has indicated there's no desire to leave Oxford but has acknowledged the speculation, addressing it directly with his players.

"That's a product of having a program with a lot of players and coaches doing a really good job," Kiffin said he told his players. "I wouldn’t even mention it because they’ve been through it every year for probably four years in a row, but we have so many players, I just told them, ‘Hey, guys, this is what happens around here because we win games and people like the style that we play in.'”

MORE: Ranking college football's 12 best head coaching candidates for 2026

Will Lane Kiffin leave Ole Miss?

The rumors are swirling because Kiffin checks every box for schools looking for an instant rebuild.

Kiffin is an offensive innovator with proven transfer-portal success. The seventh-ranked Rebels are currently 7-1 and in the midst of a potential College Football Playoff run after last week’s 34-26 win over Oklahoma.

Kiffin is both experienced and rejuvenated in the new era of college football. Once considered a college football castaway, he found stability in Oxford. It's one of the major reasons why other programs want to steal him away.

LSU and Florida are expected to throw massive offers at their next coaches, and both programs have the infrastructure and recruiting reach to tempt almost anyone. But as Kiffin recently told The Pat McAfee Show, money won’t drive his decision.

“I’ve never made a decision based off money, nor will I,” Kiffin said. “Jimmy Sexton gets mad when I say that. He cares. I don’t.”

MORE: Why Lane Kiffin is long shot as Florida's Billy Napier replacement

Lane Kiffin's contract

Kiffin is currently 10th on college football's highest-paid coaches at $9 million per year, according to USA TODAY Sports.

The contract had to be reworked in May of last year to fit the current 12-team College Football Playoff structure. Also, his max bonuses are $2.6 million per year, which is ninth nationally and fourth in the SEC behind Texas A&M's Mike Elko, Kentucky's Mark Stoops and Auburn's Hugh Freeze.

Kiffin receives an automatic one-year extension for every season Ole Miss wins at least seven regular-season games. He hit that mark with Saturday's win over Oklahoma and inked his renewal on Tuesday.

The added year is worth $9 million with $7.2 million guaranteed, according to USA Today reporter Steve Berkowitz. Kiffin has already made $150,000 in bonus money so far this season.

Contract: 8-year, $72 million
Max bonus: $2.6 million
Salary per game: $750,000
Salary per half: $375,000
Salary per quarter: $187,500
Salary per minute of game time on the field: $12,500

Lane Kiffin's contract bonuses

Kiffin can earn a good amount of his bonuses this season.

Regular season wins

$100,000 per non-conference Power Four + Pac-12 win
$150,000 per SEC win
$150,000 for reaching the SEC Championship Game and $400,000 for a win
$125,000-$50,000 for bowl appearance

Kiffin earns a $50,000 bonus if Ole Miss plays in the Birmingham Bowl or Independence Bowl; $100,000 for the Taxslayer, Outback, Belk, Music City, Texas or Liberty bowls; and $125,000 for the Citrus Bowl.

College Football Playoff

Quarterfinals: $250,000
Semifinals: $500,000
Championship Appearance: $750,000
Championship Win: $1 million

Coach of the Year

$50,000 for SEC Coach of the Year
$100,000 for a National Coach of the Year award

Academic Bonuses

Team GPA: Up to $150,000 for achieving a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Academic Progress Report (APR): A bonus of $100,000 if the team's APR is between 950 and 975, with $150,000 for higher performance.

Perks from Ole Miss

Kiffin could receive up to $200,000 in ticket sales bonuses if the Rebels sell over 40,000 non-student season tickets.

Kiffin is also provided with the use of two automobiles, a membership for the Country Club of Oxford, use of a cell phone, a suite at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium during home games, eight priority-level tickets for home and away games, and 18 priority-level tickets for postseason games, according to the Clarion Ledger.

Kiffin is allowed up to 30 in-flight hours of private air transport for personal use every year. Any hours not used by Kiffin roll over to the next year.

Lane Kiffin's buyout

If Ole Miss were to fire Kiffin before Dec. 1, 2025, the school would owe him everything he was set to be paid up to that date, which is currently $36.6 million, if fired without cause. That figure will increase to nearly $44 million by Dec. 8 of this year, according to the Clarion Ledger.

Notably, Kiffin's contract with the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation states he has no duty to mitigate, meaning his future earnings would not offset the amount owed to him.

As Ole Miss eyes its first-ever playoff appearance, the school’s biggest win may be keeping its head coach in Oxford-- for now.