Lane Kiffin's Future Hangs in the Balance as Ole Miss Eyes Playoff

Lane Kiffin's time at Ole Miss is at a crossroads. The university and its athletic director, Keith Carter, have been in talks with Kiffin about his future, but any decisions will wait until after the Rebels' final game of the season, the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State. Kiffin's current team is ranked sixth in the College Football Playoff rankings, and a win against Mississippi State would virtually guarantee their spot in the expanded 12-team playoff. However, Kiffin's future with the team is uncertain. Both LSU and Florida have been actively courting Kiffin to fill their head coaching vacancies, with representatives from both schools meeting with members of Kiffin's family in the past week. Ole Miss has been working on a contract extension to keep Kiffin in Oxford and make him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football. The university wanted to resolve this situation before the Egg Bowl, but Kiffin's decision is still up in the air. Kiffin's coaching career has been marked by drama and controversy. He was fired by the Raiders after just one season and left Tennessee after one year to become USC's coach. Despite this, he has led the Rebels to three straight double-digit victory seasons, raising his stock as a candidate for other jobs. Florida seems like the most likely landing spot for Kiffin, given his family's roots in the state. His father, the late Monte Kiffin, spent much of his long coaching career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As the College Football Playoff approaches, schools looking to hire a new coach do not want to wait for potential candidates to play out their seasons. The signing period for high school recruits begins in early December, and the transfer portal opens in early January.