Josh Pate: Lane Kiffin will 'be somewhere other than Oxford' in 2026

Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin is the biggest off-field storyline right now in college football, with no clue yet as to where he’ll be coaching next season. But, as speculation continues to grow, Josh Pate currently thinks, with these ongoing searches elsewhere, that he’ll eventually be leaving The ‘Sip.

On his weekly appearance on ‘Get Up,’ Pate was asked where he believes that Kiffin will be on a sideline next fall. His thought, as of this week, is that it won’t be where he is now.

“I think, if I had to place my money right now, he’ll be somewhere other than Oxford, Mississippi coaching next year,” Pate predicted.

However, that’s not to say a choice is headed anywhere yet with how this saga has shifted so far. This week’s rumors were evidence of that, causing excitement at schools like Florida and LSU, while causing concerns at Ole Miss. Reports stated the Kiffin family visited both Gainesville and Baton Rouge within the last few days. It’s just to say, if he were to make his own guesses as of right now, Pate believes Kiffin won’t be back with the Rebels.

“What I do believe is there’s been a lot of window speculation. By that, I mean, if you’re a Florida booster, you have information that he may have visited Gainesville,” Pate said. “What you may not have known is – well, his family rather, not him. Well, his family is going to be in Baton Rouge the next day doing their due diligence, shopping around. The problem is that leads to really widespread speculation that a deal is done. I don’t think a deal has been done, at least not as of the time I woke up this morning.

“I think he’s really back and forth on it. I do think, and I may have given you a different answer last week, that, more than likely, he’ll be out of there.”

Of all the coaching candidates out there, Kiffin is among the most unpredictable, if not the most so. But, at one job or another, this is going to have to be decided at some point. That being said, Pate is one of many looking to no later than next week, the final one of the regular season, as the one where they’ll need some answers at Ole Miss.

“Where it really gets interesting is, this time next week, we’re getting ready for the Egg Bowl,” Pate said. “We’re getting ready for Mississippi State–Ole Miss, and the question that remains is, are the folks in positions of power at Ole Miss going to want an answer from him? Let me check that. Are they going to demand an answer from him before that game, because of all the stuff we just talked about with the calendar?”