The Lane Kiffin saga at Ole Miss is reaching a boiling point now, and it’s the head coach who’s spiraling. Loyalty has been the theme of the last few weeks for the Rebels’ fans. They have been burned in the past. While Kiffin has yet to decide whether he’ll stay or go, he’s been seeing some extreme reactions from inside the house. Some crossed the line and received a response from Kiffin.

Earlier in the week, Ole Miss reporter Ben Garrett called out the head coach as people continued linking him to the LSU Tigers. “Can’t turn a h– into a housewife. H–s don’t act right,” Garrett said.

It’s one thing to criticize, but the kind of language the reporter used was unacceptable to Kiffin. After their Egg Bowl victory, he confronted Garrett, saying, “You wanna walk in here and call me a h–? Well, see how it goes.”

Garrett stood shell-shocked when Lane Kiffin had a go at him. Ultimately, he was taken away by the state troopers. That petty shade hit Kiffin’s ego raw after a season of contract drama and locker room break-ins by rowdy State fans who allegedly swiped QB Trinidad Chambliss’ jersey.​ Well, it’s not the coach’s fault for finding something better that can suit his resume, right? Rebels shred Mississippi State 38-19, snagging a CFP lock, yet the spotlight’s glued to Kiffin’s future. Is it LSU’s $90M bait or Florida’s $15M/year tease?

Why the madness? AD Keith Carter’s public Thursday deadline backfired spectacularly when Lane ghosted it, fueling headlines like ‘Kiffin holds Ole Miss hostage.’ The situation has worsened significantly for Kiffin. On one hand, he is trying to make a statement this season, even if it stands as his last one in Oxford. He’s trying to win 11 games for the first time at this school, and he’s just trying to hang on and chase an SEC title for the first time in over 60 years. And because he has been so busy in anchoring his present team to a potential playoff spot, some programs are getting impatient. The Gators, who were once desperate for Kiffin, are now pulling the deal off the table.

Why the pivot? Kiffin’s head was spinning with LSU’s fat contract offer and Ole Miss’s ultimatums. A Rebel win locked an 11-1 finish and CFP home game at Vaught-Hemingway on Dec. 19-20, but Lane’s flirtations risked chaos. However, one still cannot take away his credit for a marvelous Ole Miss season. But even after doing so much, you don’t expect reporters from your own school to throw slurs at you, do you? Plus, it’s not the first time Kiffin has lost his cool over something. Remember the Oklahoma game this season?

Kiffin got caught on a hot mic telling Sooners defensive lineman David Stone, “You’re a little quieter now than before?” He later said Stone had been trash-talking him all game. Brawls are pretty normal in a sport like college football, but there’s still a line you shouldn’t cross. And especially when it involves someone who’s doing everything he can to take his team to the top.

Lane Kiffin’s future is still under wraps

Lane Kiffin’s coaching future is hanging in the balance of two schools: LSU and Ole Miss. The Rebels just won their last regular-season game against MS State which secured their playoff home game spot in December. It’s surely a good day for the Rebels, but Kiffin’s mind was a storm cloud. When asked about his decision after this, Kiffin couldn’t help but reply with a blunt tone.

“No, I haven’t (made a decision). I’ve gotta lot of praying to do to figure it out tomorrow,” Kiffin told ESPN’s Taylor McGregor following the sixth-ranked Rebels’ 38-19 win over Mississippi State. “Right now, I’m going to enjoy these players. I live life one day at a time.” Weeks of SEC soap opera had boiled down to this. Lane, the 50-year-old wizard who’d racked up a 54-19 record since 2020 (third-best in the conference behind only Bama and UGA), was teasing fans with silence.

Kiffin had huddled with Carter and Chancellor Glenn Boyce, dodging Florida’s mega-offer (they pivoted to Jeff Brohm and Jon Sumrall amid his flaky texts). However, the $90m is still in play. Lane was even asked if the 38-19 win over the Bulldogs made his decision harder or not. He called it “difficult no matter what.” He also said he feels like he has to make his decision by Saturday, and that he really wishes his dad, Monte Kiffin, were still around to help him out.