Lane Kiffin on finishing season at Ole Miss: 'I've never thought of anything different'

Regardless of whether he decides to stay in Oxford or leave for another job in 2026, Lane Kiffin is committed to finishing out this season with Ole Miss. The Rebels are in contention for a national championship, and the coach assured fans he plans to see the run through until its end.

Kiffin was asked whether that was his plan in a press conference on Monday prior to the Egg Bowl. The coach seemed to scoff at the notion that he would do anything otherwise, offering a short but firm response.

“It’s very important (to finish this season),” he said. “I’ve never thought of anything different than that.”

The statement comes amid anticipation for Kiffin making a decision soon between staying at Ole Miss or leaving for job openings at LSU or Florida. The coach met with athletic direction Keith Carter on Friday during the Rebels’ bye week. Carter announced after that meeting that Kiffin would have an announcement regarding his future after the Egg Bowl, which is scheduled for Friday.

Kiffin was asked plenty about his future during Monday’s press conference, but declined to comment. He told reporters that he wanted to keep the focus on the game against Mississippi State and the season.

Ole Miss sits at No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings as of Monday. They also still have a very slim chance at making the SEC Championship, but only if they beat the Bulldogs and Alabama and Texas A&M both lose this week.

It seems like we’ll have to wait until Saturday to get any new information from Kiffin on his plans. For now, the coach is trying to get through the Egg Bowl, which will kick off at 12 p.m. ET on Friday.

Lane Kiffin reflects on his past coaching changes

A career in coaching has caused Kiffin to see plenty of changes in scenery over the years, either by his own choice or that of an athletic department he was working for. The coach has been to Tennessee, USC, Alabama, Florida Atlantic and even the NFL before landing in Oxford.

That experience has taught him a lot and made him into the coach he is today. As he now reaches yet another pivotal decision to make for his career, he wouldn’t change anything about the past.

“Over the years of the changes I’ve made, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on things that have happened,” Kiffin said. “I really feel like, with age, they all happened exactly how they were supposed to happen and when they were supposed to happen. I just didn’t think it at the time. I thought they were disasters. They’re just all part of a story.

“I spoke at my dad’s funeral when he passed and I always wondered why we moved so much. Because it was hard on us as kids and everything. I realized that that was just all part of his story. All the people that came to the funeral or wrote notes from all the different places. I realized that was God’s plan for him to impact all those people and have all those relationships. So I think all the stuff that happened, happened how it was supposed to happen.”