Dan WetzelNov 24, 2025, 07:40 AM ETCloseDan Wetzel is a senior writer focused on investigative reporting, news analysis and feature storytelling.
‘That man will be gone!’ Stephen A. says Lane Kiffin has to leave Ole Miss (1:45)Stephen A. Smith gets fired up explaining why he believes Lane Kiffin won’t be at Ole Miss next season. (1:45)
Ryan Day is 81-10 as the head coach of Ohio State, including 11-0 this year as the Buckeyes try to repeat as national champions. It’s a breathtaking run of success.
Kiffin has yet to publicly declare where he will work next season — let alone the rest of this season. It might be LSU. It might be Florida. Or it might be Ole Miss, where he has the 10-1 Rebels ranked sixth heading into Friday’s Egg Bowl at Mississippi State.
“An announcement on Coach Kiffin’s future is expected the Saturday following the game,” Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter wrote in a statement.
Forget the rest of this chaotic story. The long, slow drag-out of an announcement. The fact that Kiffin had family members reportedly tour other schools and towns … while still working in Oxford. The daily cryptic book excerpts Kiffin sends out on social media, leaving fans to try to decipher their meanings.
Maybe. Or maybe not. Who really knows? It’s Lane. Maybe he’ll pick a hat, like recruits do, or have Jesse Palmer come to town for a “Bachelor”-style rose ceremony.
If nothing else, Kiffin, a personality like no other, has set up Friday’s game in Starkville, Mississippi, as a game like no other — one of the most “must-win” contests a coach has ever faced.
Yet if Ole Miss gets upset Friday by its archrival, it could all collapse. If so, the blame will be singular.
Kiffin might never live down creating a circus of speculation and distraction as he considers quitting on a playoff team.
Emotions will be bitter enough if Kiffin leaves after securing a victory that puts Ole Miss in the playoff. If the Rebels lose, though? They aren’t assured anything, falling into a crowded group of 10-2 contenders seeking an at-large bid. They could get left out.
Making matters worse, it’s quite possible Kiffin bails the next day. That would give the College Football Playoff committee the option of downgrading the Rebels because they lost their head coach the way it downgraded Florida State two years ago because it lost its starting quarterback to injury.
Just like that, the dream season would have a nightmare conclusion … just as the perpetrator skips town. How will that go over?
Ole Miss is an 8.5-point favorite. It should defeat a Mississippi State team that has shown admirable growth this year but is still rebuilding. This is the Egg Bowl, though. Anything can — and has — happened. Upsets. Comebacks. A guy costing his team by mimicking a urinating dog during a touchdown celebration.
“Coach Kiffin and I have had many pointed and positive conversations regarding his future at Ole Miss,” Carter wrote in his statement. “While we discuss next steps, we know we cannot lose sight of what is most important — our sixth-ranked team that is poised to finish the regular season in historic fashion.
“Despite outside noise,” Carter wrote, “Coach Kiffin is focused on preparing our team for the Egg Bowl.”
‘That man will be gone!’ Stephen A. says Lane Kiffin has to leave Ole Miss (1:45)Stephen A. Smith gets fired up explaining why he believes Lane Kiffin won’t be at Ole Miss next season. (1:45)
Stephen A. Smith gets fired up explaining why he believes Lane Kiffin won’t be at Ole Miss next season. (1:45)
CloseDan Wetzel is a senior writer focused on investigative reporting, news analysis and feature storytelling.
It is why you’d think Day is the coach under the most pressure to win a specific game this weekend.
Then along comes Lane Kiffin saying, hold my Hotty Toddy.
Or even the fact the decision is merely “expected” on Saturday.
Day can lose and, despite the embarrassment, move on to bigger challenges.