Ole Miss ultimatum to Kiffin
- Thread starter 18IsTheMan
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Sounds great, but doesn’t Kiffin have all the leverage here? If he doesn’t give an answer are they going to fire him only to knowingly downgrade their HC? The brief article I read didn’t mention firing. If they fired him that can’t be for cause. OM doesn’t have any real cards to play here.
Ummmmmm...... I'm not buying it. What I mean is, I think Ole Miss has either overplayed their hand, forgot who holds the cards, or is just delusional. If I'm Kiffin', I'm not telling them anything.
If I'm Kiffin', with his ego, I'm going to make them fire me when I've taken their team to a 1 loss record and relevance again and a high likelihood of making the CFP this year. If Ole Miss fires him after that, honest question...what coach in their right mind would take that job after that????
Kiffin' holds the cards. Ole Miss is bluffing or stupid, or both.
If I'm Kiffin', with his ego, I'm going to make them fire me when I've taken their team to a 1 loss record and relevance again and a high likelihood of making the CFP this year. If Ole Miss fires him after that, honest question...what coach in their right mind would take that job after that????
Kiffin' holds the cards. Ole Miss is bluffing or stupid, or both.
I buy it. Completely.
They aren't going to sit around and wait and wait on Kiffin to make up his mind until after they playoffs and then start a coaching search in mid-January after all the other schools have already picked the market clean. The option for them is to grovel at Kiffin's feet, then he leaves after the playoffs and they are scrambling to find a coach.
It's a program that's acting with a little dignity, something we are unfamiliar with.
KIffin and family have been flown to both Gainesville, and Baton Rouge this past weekend.They're already tracking flights in and out of Oxford.
Kiffin is in quite a pickle He desperately wants to be in the CFP, and Ole Miss is assured of that this year. He and Ole Miss have dumped every available resource into making this year a reality. He also desperately wants a bigger job.
Things is, he can't have both. Neither UF or LSU want to wait, or will wait, until early January to hire him, with the early signing period and the January portal. So he can take his dream job and miss out on coaching in the playoffs. He's a guy who has worked hard to rehab his image in recent years, but he'd suddenly be the guy who quit on a playoff team. Or he can fulfill his goal of getting to the playoffs but miss out on a dream job.
Things is, he can't have both. Neither UF or LSU want to wait, or will wait, until early January to hire him, with the early signing period and the January portal. So he can take his dream job and miss out on coaching in the playoffs. He's a guy who has worked hard to rehab his image in recent years, but he'd suddenly be the guy who quit on a playoff team. Or he can fulfill his goal of getting to the playoffs but miss out on a dream job.
Does Oxford - and the whole state of Mississippi - suck that bad that he would move to Baton Rouge or Gainesville?
If he sticks around they'll name the dang stadium after him. He's a god there.
If he sticks around they'll name the dang stadium after him. He's a god there.
It would be the mature decision to stay. He won't make the CFP every single year, but he'll contend for it every year. He makes $9 million a year and they'd probably up that a bit. They give him what he needs to loot the portal. Ole Miss is more than happy with the results produced.
If he goes to LSU, the bar is national title. Anything else is abject failure. I don't think UF is at the level any longer, but that would be their ambition.
What could sway him to one or the other would be an inside look at the NIL collective for each.
You show me that UF or LSU can significantly outspend Ole Miss, and it might be worth it.
The dude is winning with an FCS qb right now. What if he had Ohio State money, or close to?
I just don't understand why he would want to leave. He had the big job at Tenn and SoCal, why not just stay at Ole Miss and become a legend. Total egotistical stupidity if he leaves.
I agree. As much as I loathe him, I'd come to respect that he's set aside some of that stuff and seemed content at Ole Miss.
If he leaves for LSU or UF and doesn't win a title (which he most likely won't...it's just very hard to do), then what was it for?
You're at a school where you can compete at a high level, you're one of the highest paid coaches in the country, the fan base/administration/boosters are happy to have you. Is it worth blowing that up just because you think you have a better shot at the title somewhere else?
Besides, if I'm him, I'm looking at recent history. For as "easy" as it's supposed to be to win at UF, they have burned through a bunch of coaches who couldn't get it done. Maybe it was easy if your name is Spurrier or Meyer.
I read somewhere that he was back with his estranged wife. That could put a camper on that avenue.
But seriously, would you agree with him switching to LSU or UF if there was a significant raise in NIL funds?
Me? No, but I hate NIl.
I guess if he views that as the ultimate obstacle to success, then maybe it's the deciding factor.
Curiously, if that's his rationale, it's almost a concession that he's not good enough to get it done. His brilliance as a coach shines through more at Ole Miss than it ever could at LSU or Ole Miss. As you noted, he took an FCS QB and made him one of the top QBs in the SEC.
I dunno. These guys are all competitors who want to win a title, but if you're happy where you are (and he's pretty outspoken that he's found peace and happiness in Oxford), then why blow it all up?
If NIL is capped at $20 mil I would imagine that several schools have "Ohio State" money.
UF and LSU can hold their own when it comes to girls. Best I've seen are at UGA. UGA girls have a much more sophisticated look to them and the campus being so hilly keeps them in great shape ( I think everywhere you walk in Athens is uphill, no matter what direction you are going). I guess it is because of all the Atlanta area girls that they look sophisticated.
Hell, every SEC school I've ever been to had great looking girls.
Not even an FCS QB. Ferris State is D2.
Well, the money the school can spend is capped at 20 million. Third party NIL'S can still go nuts.
I dont know if its officially name, image and likeness, but schools can spend up to 20 million as part of the class settlement that just came out of the courts.
When we looked at Missouri a year or so ago, the breakup was like 19 million in cah, split between sports, and the rest in scholarships.
Kiffin is scheduled to meet with Ole Miss AD today.
LSU open to Orgeron being on Kiffin's staff.
Big question in everyone's mind: if Kiffin announces he's going to LSU and doesn't coach Ole Miss in the playoffs, does the CFP knock Ole Miss down in the rankings? They kept FSU out b/c their starting QB was injured, so some are thinking the same rationale should apply here.
LSU open to Orgeron being on Kiffin's staff.
Big question in everyone's mind: if Kiffin announces he's going to LSU and doesn't coach Ole Miss in the playoffs, does the CFP knock Ole Miss down in the rankings? They kept FSU out b/c their starting QB was injured, so some are thinking the same rationale should apply here.
I guess it depends on what "with cause" means in his contract. With him saying he may leave or whatever... That specifically has a negative affect on the program and school by leaving them and the players in limbo.... Is that "cause" enough to be fired? It sure does suck for Ole Miss.
In theory. He has all the leverage if Ole MIss' position is that they are so desperate to win that they'll prostitute their program to Kiffin for the remainder of the year, knowing he's leaving for somewhere else.
They don't seem prepared to do that.
Kiffin would have to deal with the stigma of abandoning a team that is heading to the playoffs. He has tried to rehab his image in Oxford and put the selfish UT Kiffin days behind him. A move like this would dredge all that back up. He has tried to present himself has a more mature, grounded individual. That would all go up in smoke. That doesn't mean he won't do it.
But Ole Miss does not appear to be willing to sacrifice the future of the program to let Kiffin scratch his playoff itch. Most schools with openings will probably have their vacancies filled by the time Ole Miss' participation in the playoffs were over. This isn't so much about sticking it to Kiffin as it is acknowledging that they can't piss away 2 months of time they could use for a coaching search.
Of course, Ole MIss' position is strengthened by the fact that Kiffin would be leaving for another team in the conference who they play every year. They would look pathetic if they allowed him to coach in the playoffs and then be introduced as LSU's HC the day after they were knocked out.
LSU also probably does not want to wait until January to have Kiffin in place. So I don't think there's a lot to this "demand" by Ole Miss. They just want to know by the Egg Bowl.
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OM gains nothing with an ultimatum and risks losing everything. Just sit tight and let it play out. Sure, it is irritating to see him visit these other schools, but that is what coaches do. Frankly, if I were Kiffin I would not work at either LSU or Florida.
They aren’t really losing anything though. In reality, neither LSU nor Florida want to wait to have their head coach in place until Ole Miss is booted from the playoffs in January. So it is unlikely that Kiffin would be coaching in the playoffs anyway if you were to accept one of those jobs. Ole Miss just wants his decision by the Egg Bowl, a game they would win with or without him.
I applaud them for acting with some dignity. They gave him everything he asked for to make this season a reality.
A very interesting twist in all of this is that Penn State has apparently identified Deboer as their top target. That seems unfathomable to me that he would leave Alabama. But I guess in their mind, they think it must be some sort of possibility.
I have to wonder if Kiffin is somewhat dragging his feet to see if the Alabama job wouldn’t open up. That is the crown jewel of college coaching jobs. He would have huge buyers remorse if he left for LSU or Florida and then Alabama opened up. Alabama, likewise, I believe would hire Kiffin in about 45 minutes if Deboer were to leave.
The only scenario in which I can see Deboer leaving is if they lose the iron bowl to Auburn, but that is most unlikely to happen.
I have to wonder if Kiffin is somewhat dragging his feet to see if the Alabama job wouldn’t open up. That is the crown jewel of college coaching jobs. He would have huge buyers remorse if he left for LSU or Florida and then Alabama opened up. Alabama, likewise, I believe would hire Kiffin in about 45 minutes if Deboer were to leave.
The only scenario in which I can see Deboer leaving is if they lose the iron bowl to Auburn, but that is most unlikely to happen.
If I was LSU or UF, I would want kiffin to tell me in person he's taking the job in order to take the risk in waiting.
But even then, it would have to be behind closed doors, and wouldnt hold up of he changed his mind.
If I was hiring him, I would want him building an NIL class during the playoffs, and to do that, you'd have to be telling recruits hes coming.
Just a mess with timing all around.
I just think LSU and UF are quicksand jobs. If OM finishes 11-1 in the toughest conference in the country they will advance in the POs. Not saying they will win it all, but they might.
The more I read, the more it seems like he is probably waiting to see what happens with the Alabama job.
Yep verbal contracts mean nothing and you run the risk of the news getting out before Ole Miss season ends.
If I were Ole Miss, I'd reach out to Meyer or Saban and try to sign one of them to a contingency contract for up to 8 weeks (or whatever it is) of work for $3m plus a $1m bonus for every additional win after Kiffin leaves. If Kiffin stays, or stays through the playoff, they don't have to do a thing, but if he leaves, they become interim head coach immediately. If you're Ole Miss, you can't count on having many playoff opportunities. There's no way I'd let this one go to waste.
It would give one of those guys the chance to really expand their legacy at very little risk. If you win, you're the only coach in history to win championships at 3 different schools and become an absolute HERO to Ole Miss. If you don't win it all - nobody would blame you since you were inserted at the last minute. It would give those coaches a chance to scratch that itch (and you know they have that itch) with no commitment.
The second they are announced as interim head coach, Ole Miss would immediately become the biggest story of the CFP. Their first game will be must-see TV.