Lane Kiffin’s name hasn’t left the college football news cycle for weeks now. And it probably won’t be until November 29th when Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter has promised an announcement about the head coach’s future. Amid this, FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt has fired off a warning that if Kiffin does leave for LSU, he’ll destroy the one thing that every coach needs to succeed.

Speaking on Thursday’s episode of The Herd, Klatt said, “Lane has turned Ole Miss into a premier program in the SEC. I would make the argument that he doesn’t have to leave. This is not college football of 10 years ago, where you have to be at one of three or four places in order to compete for and win a national championship. He doesn’t have to leave.”

Klatt then added, “And my last point would just be, as a coach, when you stand in front of your players, your currency is your credibility, and your credibility with those players is tied directly to your character. The only thing they care about is how much you care about them. And if he does this, and he leaves, which it looks like he’s going to, it looks like he’s going to LSU, he will destroy his credibility.”

The FOX analyst then highlighted another important factor. “In front of what team that he stands in front of, can he say like, ‘Hey, commit to me and choose, you know, lay down yourself, and let’s commit to something bigger than ourselves, and let’s go achieve something great. In the back of their minds, they’re gonna be like, well, what if something better pops up for you, Lane? What if the Dallas Cowboys call?… He’s doing a disservice to the players he’s coaching currently, and I feel bad for him.”​

What makes Klatt’s credibility argument so powerful is that Lane Kiffin’s track record already gives it teeth. This is a coach who bolted from Tennessee after one year for USC, then got fired on the tarmac after a loss to Arizona State. He’s bounced around enough that trust is already a commodity in short supply. If he stands in front of LSU players next year and asks them to buy into a championship culture, how many will privately wonder when the next shiny opportunity comes calling?

The transfer portal era has fundamentally changed college football, making roster continuity more fragile than ever. Coaches need players to believe they’re all-in for the long haul. Kiffin built Ole Miss into a legitimate contender by assembling one of the most explosive offenses in the country, and he calls the plays himself. Walking away now, right before the program’s first playoff appearance, doesn’t just hurt this year’s team. It poisons the well for whoever comes next, whether that’s at Ole Miss or his new destination.​

Urban Meyer gives his take on Lane Kiffin’s potential departure

Urban Meyer knows a thing or two about leaving a team at the worst possible time. And he’s not afraid to tell Lane Kiffin that walking away from Ole Miss right now could be a decision that keeps you up at night for decades. The former Ohio State and Florida coach appeared on FS1’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” this week and delivered a stark warning to Kiffin.

“I mean, just personally, how do you walk into that meeting and say, ‘Hey guys, not only am I leaving, but I’m going to be playing you next year’? I don’t know,” Meyer said. “I had a similar situation when I was at the University of Utah, and we went undefeated, the first small school to break into the BCS, and I left and went to Florida. And that just ripped your heart out. I went back and coached the last game in the Fiesta Bowl and won. This is uncharted waters, though. To leave a team that could potentially, other than Ohio State and maybe A&M and Indiana [this season], I’m telling you, Ole Miss is right there.”

Meyer’s justification for warning Kiffin makes perfect sense. The 2004 Utah situation was different. Meyer left after the regular season but before a bowl game, which was painful but at least gave his team closure. What Kiffin’s contemplating is far messier. He is potentially abandoning a 10-1 Ole Miss team that’s one win away from its first-ever College Football Playoff berth. Then he might take a job at LSU, where he’d be directly competing against those same players in the SEC.