Kirk Herbstreit explains why Lane Kiffin staying at Ole Miss could be the correct decision

If Kirk Herbstreit were in the shoes of Lane Kiffin, he would stay right where he is at Ole Miss. Kiffin has been rumored to be in the running for openings at high-profile jobs around the country, namely Florida and LSU.

With it being midseason and the Rebels looking like a potential College Football Playoff team, Kiffin hasn’t spoken on the jobs himself. But Herbstreit argued that the coach might save himself a lot of stress if he opted to remain in Oxford, where the expectations historically aren’t as high as other premier SEC schools.

NIL also played a factor in Herbstreit’s reasoning, as he explained that it is easier to win at a program like Ole Miss now than it was in the past. Taking both of those points in consideration, the choice was clear to the ESPN analyst.

“I might stay. I really might in the world we’re in now,” Herbstreit said on The Ryen Russilo Show. “Nick Saban and I were talking about this in a meeting on Friday. We were just talking about, there’s always been structure and kind of like as a coach, you’re at the MAC or Conference USA or Mountain West and then you hope to go to the Big Ten or ACC and even then there are tiers. Ole Miss has always been kind of a second tier (to) Florida, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, whatever it is. But man, now, what’s your budget look like? What can you afford? It’s no longer, ‘We win here. We send guys to the NFL. We’ve got tradition.’ No one cares. It’s, ‘How much you paying?’

“So at Ole Miss, without the pressure of Brian Kelly, ‘Win or else you’re fired,’ or Hugh Freeze, ‘Win or else you’re fired,’ or Kalen DeBoer, who’s kind of righted the ship, ‘Win or else you’re fired.’ Ole Miss is kind of like, ‘Hey, you notice the miles per hour? It’s 18 for Archie Manning. We have fun here at the Grove.’ It’s not the same. Now, if he gets to the playoff and makes a run, maybe it will become that. But what’s wrong with coaching at Indiana in 2025? What’s wrong with coaching at Ole Miss?”

Lane Kiffin has been the head coach of the Rebels since 2020, compiling a 52-19 record in that span. This year it looks like he could have them in the playoff for the first time, and there’s no telling how far he can take them from there.

Needless to say, Kiffin is proving that he can win at Ole Miss. If that is the case and he is happy in Oxford, why would he trade that to be put under a microscope elsewhere? The coach already turned down the chance to coach at Auburn a few years back, and Herbstreit would do the same with these new offers.

“If you’ve got the resources to put a staff together and pay your players, why not coach there and not deal with not sleeping at night because you’re not gonna win 11 games?” he said. “Ryan Day had a 24-hour armed guard at his house last year after he lost to Michigan because of his own fans because they wanted his ass fired. Then he went on to win four in a row and win the national title. That’s not forgotten. At Ohio State or Michigan or those high-profile jobs that you think are revered and wanted, and I’m not saying they aren’t, but why do you have to go there?

“…Why do you gotta deal with, ‘You better win or else’ mentality when maybe you can accomplish the same stuff at less of a stressful situation? I’m not saying (Lane Kiffin) won’t go to Baton Rouge or Gainesville. I’m just asking why. Why do you have to go?”