Lane Kiffin pressed directly on Auburn, when he will sign his Ole Miss contract extension
There have, of course, been rumors that Lane Kiffin is going to take the Auburn job. One report, which Kiffin publicly disputed, said he would be resigning from Ole Miss as early as Black Friday to do so. Because of this, it kind of hung over the Egg Bowl as a shadow, despite Kiffin’s denials.
Coaches have used clever language to hide their intentions before. Lincoln Riley infamously promised not to leave Oklahoma for LSU, before deciding to leave Oklahoma for USC instead. Because of this, some people have felt Lane Kiffin might be using some careful language too.
Following the Egg Bowl loss, a reporter decided to directly ask Lane Kiffin, if Auburn offers him its head coaching position, would he anticipate being Ole Miss’ head coach in 2023?
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“I do,” Lane Kiffin replied.
In a follow-up question, the same reporter asked what he told his players on Wednesday when he spoke with them.
“I mean, I could easily just say that’s between team meetings that we don’t really talk about that, but I just told them that that report that probably you’re not paying much attention to, but probably your family is, is inaccurate and false reporting,” Lane Kiffin said. “So.”
In these situations, coaches often sign extensions with their current schools. After all, assuming a school wants to keep them, one of the best ways to do that is through a larger financial commitment. Some coaches even know this and will try to use an open job as leverage for an extension. Part of why the Lane Kiffin to Auburn rumors persist is that he hasn’t signed an extension to stay in Oxford.
Lane Kiffin was then asked about what the timeline was for him to sign a contract extension with Ole Miss if he isn’t going to Auburn after all.
“I don’t know,” Lane Kiffin said. “I mean, I’ve signed three. So, does the fourth one mean you’re never leaving? So, I don’t know. I’m much more focused and worried about the game than whether you sign another contract, and I’m not acting ungrateful for that, but, again, everybody thinks you sign a contract, well a year ago you said the same thing. Then, here we are again, so.”
Whether or not Lane Kiffin takes the Auburn job remains to be seen. No matter what he decides to do, this has been a fascinating saga in what has been an incredibly unique career.
Mississippi State trolls Lane Kiffin
Following its win over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl, Mississippi State had a taunt prepared for Lane Kiffin. This came after Kiffin joked about a Starkville reporter leaving for a job he wasn’t offered by posting a fake press release to Twitter.
So, the Bulldogs had a response of their own.
Using the same format, Mississippi State announced it won the Egg Bowl. That’s a pretty good way to troll college football’s most famous joker.