Ole Miss fans are getting flashbacks of the Riverboat Gambler, Tommy Tuberville, in the saga involving their current head coach. Tuberville was an icon, and then came the Auburn job rumors. He said the Tigers will have to carry him out of Oxford in a pine box. Well, he left for Auburn anyway. Is Lane Kiffin going to do the same thing?

The Rebels are currently at a historic juncture. It’s sitting near the top of the SEC table, a one-loss team with a guaranteed spot in the playoffs. Just win the Egg Bowl. That’s all they need. However, the same game will also see Kiffin making a decision.

Ole Miss Athletic Director announced last Friday that Kiffin would be making an official statement post the Egg Bowl. “Coach Kiffin and I have had many pointed and positive conversations regarding his future at Ole Miss, including a meeting today with Chancellor Boyce. 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,” said Carter.

No information has been relayed by the program or a tight-lipped Lane Kiffin on whether the head coach would be announcing his decision immediately after the Egg Bowl. However, the program will need a decision. It won’t allow Kiffin to coach them in the playoffs if he’s planning to leave. Our prediction is that Lane Kiffin is going to LSU.

While Lane Kiffin was heavily linked to the Gators when Billy Napier was fired, the LSU job is too hard to ignore. The Tigers have already offered Kiffin a whopping $90 million contract, which will put him next to Kirby Smart among head coaches with the top salaries.

The Kiffin family visited both Gainesville and Baton Rouge, but the hype around the former has subsided in the past few days. Now, it’s either stay at home or leave for LSU. Just two options, and unfortunately for Ole Miss fans, they won’t have him around next season or even in the playoffs.

The Tigers are coming off a failed Brian Kelly experiment. However, all their previous three head coaches before Kelly won the national titles. That legacy is hard to ignore for someone like Lane Kiffin, who wants a seat at the top. He has long been a promising head coach who improves programs, but when it comes to clearing the last hurdle, it hasn’t gone as planned. LSU can provide him with infrastructure, a recruiting pool, and investment to realize that dream.

Florida Gators clear their intentions for Kiffin, according to reports

Florida fired its previous head coach, Billy Napier, after a disappointing 3-4 start to the 2025 season. The coaching carousel for the Gators has been red hot ever since, and several names have come up, like Tulane’s Jon Sumrall and Washington’s Jedd Fisch. But the leading candidate for the SEC program has always been Kiffin, evidenced by his ex-wife and son’s visit. However, unlike LSU, Florida has now officially lost interest.

“Florida has shifted focus from Lane Kiffin in the school’s coaching search, as the school has sensed through irregular communication that he’s interested in other options, sources told ESPN on Friday,” reported ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Pete Thamel. Other coaching names, like Louisville’s Jeff Brohm, are being pondered. That alone now should give the Ole Miss head coach another reason to announce his final decision after the Mississippi State game.

Lane Kiffin’s career is marred by abrupt departures and leaving teams midseason. The head coach did the same with Alabama when the Tide stood at the 2016 national title game. Earlier, the 50-year-old did it with Tennessee in 2009, which met with violent backlash. Would Kiffin’s stint at Ole Miss be looked at in the same way or maybe like Tommy Tuberville’s? Not quite!!

Kiffin has stayed at Ole Miss for six seasons and transformed the program in every way possible. 5-star recruits? Check. On field results? Check. First round NFL draft picks? Check. Generating NIL money? Check. In a sense, Kiffin has laid a formidable foundation at Ole Miss, something the program can sustain with other head coaches, too. So, we can finally let Lane Kiffin fly away for his dreams and let Ole Miss thrive with the groundwork he laid.