No. 7 Ole Miss avoided a massive upset loss to Florida on Saturday night, beating the Gators 34-24 after trailing 24-20 at halftime.
Afterwards, Rebels’ coach Lane Kiffin met with reporters to talk about the game and his coaching future.
Kiffin was asked several times about the rumors around him and the open coaching jobs at Florida and LSU. A few of those answers are below, along with some of the other best quotes from Kiffin.
On the Ole Miss student section chanting “We want Lane” after the game…
“It was just a cool atmosphere, like I said, during the game. The walk was awesome. So, I think it’s good. Like I’ve always said, I wish our fans would be the way they are at LSU game because they hate LSU. So, I guess we got them to hate Florida this week. So, they came with a little different, not Mississippi nice like they do sometimes. So, that was really cool at the student section and Kewan and the whole belt thing and everything.”
On if he will be the Ole Miss coach next year…
“I think the last chapter thing makes me feel like I’m, like, 80 years old, you know? So, I don’t like being old, so I don’t really like that part of the story that makes me feel like I’m in my last chapter. I love what we’re doing here. Today was awesome, and I don’t talk about that stuff. Really, to even talk about it right now would be so disrespectful to our players and how well they played today. We got a lot of things going here, doing really well, and I love it here.”
On senior night…
“I forgot about senior night. I feel like it’s almost everybody’s senior night because it’s going to the portal. So, I don’t even know why we have senior night. They’re like, portal night. All guys that are thinking about going to the portal. So, I hadn’t even thought about that.”
On getting first win as head coach against Florida…
“I hadn’t thought about that, but thanks for reminding me. That’s why we played their song, because we finally beat them. , I really hadn’t thought about that. I had thought about how far our program’s come, because that was our first game, actually, Florida. Unless you’re talking about the Florida-Tennessee game, but that was a long time ago. We lost to them. But the first game of our program here, we played Florida, and we were a long ways away on the field from them. We scored late, so it looked like we scored a lot. But, you know, that day, the programs were a long ways apart. So, it’s been five and a half years later here, almost six years later. It’s really cool to see where our program is, not just in that matchup versus them, but just in the SEC. So, like I said, I told our guys this week. I’ve said it for two weeks, as you get older everybody always says the good old days. Like, man, remember in the good old days when we were in high school, and everybody talks about how good they were? And I said, hey, guys, I think we’re in the good old days right now.”
On message to Ole Miss fans amidst Kiffin-to-Florida rumors…
“I feel like you’re a Florida guy. I don’t think we were distracted. 538 yards today for an offense seems pretty focused. What we’ve been dealing with, what people would say, has been a distraction for weeks now, including at Oklahoma. That’s a pretty good team. So, I think it’s different nowadays. I told you, I think kids think differently. They’re getting pre-portaled. Every Saturday night, they play well from other people. So, I just talk to them and say, hey, that’s part of the process. When you guys play really well, these things happen. Your coach gets talked about, and it ain’t the first time, first year it’s happened around here. So, I don’t think it’s a problem.”
Bonus Quote
On celebrations with family post-game…
“That’s a really cool story about Knox. Only problem with your Layla story is that was Keith’s wife that I hugged, not Layla. I guess all blondes look alike. But other than that, it was a cool story. I don’t know. Just seeing Knox play last night, like the whole good old days that I tell our players, I’m in them right now for my life.”
"That's how rumors get started by the way."
Lane Kiffin's "eyes lit up" when he saw who? 😂 pic.twitter.com/quvUh1K6cR
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 16, 2025
