No. 7 Ole Miss is heading into its bye week with a 10-1 record and a clear path to make the College Football Playoff.
The Rebels will finish their regular season against 5-6 Mississippi State on November 28 and could play in the SEC Championship on December 6.
Amid a successful season for Ole Miss, head coach Lane Kiffin has yet to commit to staying with the program in 2026.
Following a 34-24 win over Florida on Saturday night, Kiffin sidestepped a question about his plans to coach in Oxford next year, despite recent strong rumors connecting him to SEC rival Florida.
“I love what we’re doing here,” Kiffin said during his postgame news conference. “Today was awesome. To even talk about it right now would be so disrespectful to our players and what they did today.”
Last week saw wild speculation surrounding Kiffin’s future. There remains the possibility that Ole Miss could look to move on from their head coach even amid the team’s College Football Playoff run. Conversely, there is also a chance Kiffin will sign a contract extension during the upcoming bye week.
On Sunday, Tyler Jordan, vice president of strategic partnerships and digital host of Realtree—and a significant donor to Ole Miss—was vocal on social media about the program’s situation.
Jordan praised Mike Elko for finalizing a contract extension with Texas A&M on Saturday and reposted a message from Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson, suggesting Kiffin should “reciprocate” the gratitude shown by Ole Miss.
“Couldn’t agree more,” Watson posted. “At some point, it’d be nice for our current coach (@Lane_Kiffin) to reciprocate the love and gratitude shown by our administration, players, fan base, and collective. It just shouldn’t be this hard.”
Jordan also shared a criticism of Kiffin’s comments from Saturday night. “It would be disrespectful to his players to talk *about* Florida,” journalist Wolken wrote. “But what about talking *to* Florida? Would that be disrespectful? Just wondering.”
Moreover, Jordan suggested he was uncertain about attending the upcoming “Egg Bowl” on November 28—a remark that appears to question Kiffin’s commitment to the Rebels.
It will be interesting to see how decision-makers within the Ole Miss program handle the situation over the next week. Protecting the program’s long-term interests will be crucial.
While retaining Kiffin remains the best option for Ole Miss, the Rebels must also prepare for the possibility of moving forward without him.
https://www.newsweek.com/sports/ncaa/lane-kiffin-pressure-booster-ole-miss-11055882