Josh Pate provides latest insight on Lane Kiffin, coaching searches

Fans who attended Saturday’s game between Florida and Ole Miss certainly got a first-hand look at how serious and intense the pursuit of coach Lane Kiffin is likely to be. Several Gators fans wore shirts trying to coax Kiffin to join the program.

But where do things actually stand? Well, the clock is starting to tick on this coaching carousel cycle, college football insider Josh Pate said.

“Lane Kiffin’s got to decide on something here,” Pate said on Josh Pate’s College Football Show on Sunday evening. “Ole Miss has got to decide on something here. I’ve got a lot of people asking me, ‘Hey, is Lane going to Florida?’ I don’t know. I don’t think he does. … I can not tell you definitively what’s going to happen with Lane Kiffin.

“I think he, No. 1, doesn’t know 100% what he’s going to do, again, contrary to message board rumor. Maybe he thinks he knows. It’s not time to make a decision yet is my point.”

That’s not to say that things haven’t shifted in the last few weeks. Ole Miss is on its bye week and the regular season finale, the Egg Bowl, fast approaches.

Coaching moves are going to be made sooner than later, and that puts Ole Miss in an interesting position as a likely playoff-bound team. Pate actually opened up on what he thought the Rebels should do from here.

“Lane Kiffin’s free to feel however he wants to, and he’s free to pursue opportunities,” Pate said. “But Ole Miss is free to handle their business, too. And I’m just telling you this is how I would be if I were Ole Miss, if I were (athletics director) Keith Carter, if I were the big-money people there, knowing full well I’ve given this guy everything he needs, everything he’s ever asked for. There are very few ‘nos’ that Lane Kiffin has gotten in Oxford, Mississippi.

“At some point I’m getting an answer from him and it’s going to happen before the Egg Bowl. I’m putting a new contract in front of him, everything he says he needs is on this piece of paper. And he’s either going to sign it and we’re going to move on and the noise is going to die down and we’re going to put out a big announcement right before we play Mississippi State like A&M did with (Mike) Elko yesterday. Or we’re going to understand we’ll wrap up this regular season and then we’ll go on our separate ways.”

Pate can envision a potential scenario where Lane Kiffin isn’t coaching Ole Miss past the regular season. He already has a plan in place for the Rebels should that play out.

“And I’m just telling you if I’m Ole Miss, Pete Golding is going to be my head coach in the playoff,” Pate said. “If I’m not good enough for you to stick around in the future, then you’re not good enough to stick around here when it comes playoff time. That’s the way I would be. You’ve got to be selfish at some point. You’ve got to look out for your best interests at some point.”

The college football analyst gave further insight on the Ole Miss situation, particularly if Lane Kiffin should depart. In fact, because Kiffin was so successful that opens some new doors for the Rebels, potentially.

“You know what else has happened? We’ve given Lane everything he needs. He’s given us everything we’ve asked. But in the interim what’s happened is this job is a way better job than it looked like it was five years ago,” Pate said. “So all due respect, mountains of respect to Lane Kiffin if I’m Ole Miss, I want you to be my head coach, but if it’s not you, I’m going to be OK. I need to know sooner rather than later, and I’m going to be OK because you know what I think? I think I can be very competitive with Auburn in trying to pursue Jon Sumrall. That’s what I think.”

With all that in mind, where would Pate handicap the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes if he had to make a pick today? Well, he answered that on the podcast too.

“Florida, I think he’s their Plan A and I think they’re waiting,” Pate said. “But also I think Florida would love an answer sooner rather than later. I have no clue what LSU is doing on the Lane Kiffin front. I assume that they’re pursuing him as well.

“If I had to guess right now, my mind has changed on this a few times, if I had to guess, if I had to put my name on paper right now and then I don’t get to change it no matter what information comes my way… my guess is he’s going to go to Florida. No definitive knowledge, let me put it that way. Maybe a little bit of knowledge. I do talk to a few people. But that’s a guess. I don’t know.”