ESPN's Heather Dinich explains how Lane Kiffin leaving for LSU will impact Ole Miss' CFP ranking

The Lane Kiffin saga appears to be coming to an end. Late Saturday night into the very early hours of Sunday morning, it was reported that Kiffin intends to leave Ole Miss for LSU in 2026. The question, however, is whether or not he’ll be allowed to coach Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff.

Assuming Kiffin is not able to coach Ole Miss in the coming weeks, there likely would be some amount of impact on Ole Miss’ CFP ranking. ESPN’s Heather Dinich explained Sunday morning on SportsCenter.

“You’re right,” Heather Dinich said. “They are a CFP contender and I expect them to stay that way, but if Ole Miss has an interim head coach heading into the Playoff, that gives the selection committee the liberty to consider that when doing their final ranking on selection day. The selection committee protocol says that the committee can consider the availability of key players and coaches and how that might impact the team’s postseason.”

Lane Kiffin wouldn’t be the first example of a player or coach missing costing a team. Just a couple of years ago, Florida State fell out of the CFP top four, and at the time, the Playoff, because of an injury to quarterback Jordan Travis. However, that was a different situation. Besides just being the four-team era, Florida State also played a game without him, which Ole Miss won’t be playing.

Ultimately, Dinich does believe there’s a chance that it hurts them a couple of spots in the CFP rankings. However, that shouldn’t be enough to cost them an appearance in the field.

“They’re certainly not going to drop Ole Miss out of the College Football Playoff,” Dinich said. “But if they don’t think they’re as good of a team with an interim head coach on the sideline, they can consider dropping them a spot or two. Most likely, I would say they still host a first round home game.”

The question of whether or not Lane Kiffin is going to coach the CFP for Ole Miss is still up in the air. By all indications, he wants to. At the same time, it’s an awkward situation with his intention to leave for a rival school within the SEC.

More information on the situation is expected to come out during the day on Sunday. Ole Miss will hold a meeting with Kiffin and the team on Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. That’s 10:00 a.m. EST. Coming out of that, there will likely be some news regarding his future with the team.