Lane Kiffin said Tuesday that reports that Ole Miss has given him a deadline to declare whether he will remain football coach there are “absolutely not true.”
“There has been no ultimatum — anything like that at all,” he said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN. “We’re having a blast. I love it here.”
The Athletic reported Monday night that Ole Miss administrators want a decision as to whether he’s staying in Oxford or intends to jump to a competing program in the Southeastern Conference or elsewhere. The deadline, per the report, is before the annual Egg Bowl against Mississippi State, set for Nov. 28.
LSU, which parted ways with Brian Kelly, and Florida, which let Billy Napier go earlier this season, reportedly have Kiffin at the top of their wish lists.
The Athletic confirmed both LSU and Florida got Kiffin’s family to their campuses, although the coach did not join them on the visits. LSU sent a private plane to ferry the family to Baton Rouge on Monday, per the report.
The Rebels are 10-1 this season and ranked No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings, which will be updated Tuesday night. They defeated Florida 34-24 on Saturday and have a bye before the regular season ends against Mississippi State on Nov. 28, but they are poised to play in the school’s first CFP.
Kiffin, 50, has talked glowingly about Ole Miss but hasn’t committed to staying in Oxford.
“I love what we’re doing here,” Kiffin said following the Florida win. “Today was awesome. To even talk about it right now would be so disrespectful to our players and how well they played today. We’ve got a lot of things going here. Doing really well, and I love it here.”
Kiffin in his sixth season at Ole Miss and has a 54-19 record there.
In 14 seasons at the college level, his record is 116-53 (.686) in stops at Tennessee, Southern California and Florida Atlantic.
He also was hired at age 31 to coach the Oakland Raiders (2007-08) and was fired in his second season with a 5-15 overall record. His name is being mentioned among potential candidates for the head coach job with the New York Giants, where former Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart is set to become the face of the franchise.
–Field Level Media
