Welcome back to the second part of the series finale of the soap opera that is Lane Kiffin’s coaching future.
We weren’t expecting a part two to this finale, but at this point nothing should be a surprise.
What isn’t surprising is things are starting to get messy in Oxford. Here’s where things stand as of 11 a.m. Sunday.
What’s the situation?
Kiffin, reportedly, is ready to sign with LSU to become the Tigers’ next head coach. But Kiffin also wants to coach Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff.
Kiffin has made clear to Ole Miss administrators that he is leaving for LSU, sources tell @YahooSports.
LSU’s original proposal to Kiffin, as reported last Friday at Yahoo, was a seven-year deal at more than $90 million – making him near the top of salaries in the country.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 30, 2025
Ole Miss, also reportedly, is telling Kiffin no to coaching the playoffs if he’s leaving for LSU. Presumably, athletics director Keith Carter is the one saying no and Chancellor Glenn Boyce is supporting that decision.
Kiffin, reportedly – in fact, just go ahead and know nothing has been officially announced and everything is based on reports – is threatening to take as many coaches from Ole Miss with him to LSU before the playoff unless he’s allowed to coach in the playoff.
It’s fair to assume poaching of players and recruits is also being used as leverage in this situation. Is that enough to blackmail Ole Miss into allowing Kiffin to remain as coach through the playoffs?
What’s happening right now?
Per Rebels247 and others, the scheduled team meeting at 9 a.m. was pushed back to 1 p.m.
Furthermore, the Ole Miss player leadership council met with Carter at 8 a.m. and (from Neal McCready at Rebels247) Kiffin did not answer Carter’s call during the meeting with the leadership council and then Carter and the council went to meet with Kiffin in-person.
What happens next?
At this point, your guess is as good as mine. We’re back in wait-and-see mode until the team meeting at 1 p.m.
Hopefully, what’s going on is my suggestion below.
What should happen next?
Let the players decide if Kiffin coaches Ole Miss in the playoff or not.
Coaches and administrators are constantly talking about putting “student-athletes” first, how the players are what matters most, and yada yada.
OK, time to put up or shut up.
Let the current Ole Miss players vote, or however, make the decision.
If they think having Kiffin as the coach gives Ole miss the best chance to win a national title, Carter and fans base will just have to get over their feelings.
Would it be simple and easy? No. Kiffin already has a history of not being fully focused on a playoff team while he’s accepted another job.
He’d have to show that he’s fully invested and focused on winning a national title with Ole Miss. Could Kiffin use that extra time to convince players to follow him to LSU? Yes.
But wouldn’t winning a national championship be worth it? As Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde put it, “Winning a national title is a forever thing, especially at a school that isn’t perennially in the mix.”
On the flip side, if the players say they would rather have an interim coach then Kiffin should respect that decision and not torpedo the team by poaching coaches and other staff members.
If Kiffin does fire off a torpedo, Ole Miss should go ahead and launch the nukes.
Final Thought
Kiffin wants to have his cake and eat it too, but Kiffin isn’t the one doing the baking. The players are. Let them decide if he can have some cake.
