Kirby Smart on coaching carousel decision facing Lane Kiffin, others: 'To each his own'

During his weekly in-season appearances on the SEC Coaches Teleconference, Georgia‘s Kirby Smart tends to run the gamut of facing both pertinent questions about that week’s game and broader, more complex topics such as his thoughts on the current state of college football. And, on occasion, the Bulldogs’ 10th-year head coach gets pointed questions about situations other SEC coaches might be experiencing that do not directly impact Georgia or himself.

The latter was the case during Wednesday’s SEC teleconference — the final of the season due to next week’s Thanksgiving holiday — when Smart was indirectly asked bout the challenges head coaches like Ole Miss‘ Lane Kiffin face when being pursued for other opportunities while still leading their current program down the stretch. And while Kiffin wasn’t specifically mentioned, Smart clearly got a kick out of the reporter’s bold attempt at a potential viral quote.

“I have no idea, I really don’t,” Smart said after an audible chuckle. “I mean, you’re asking me to comment on something that I wouldn’t be the expert of, I don’t want to be the expert of, and I don’t have room in my head to consume that information and process it. To each his own is all I could tell you.”

Kiffin’s future — be it in Oxford or elsewhere — has been the talk of the college football world this week as the sixth-year Rebels coach reportedly entertains interest from both Florida and LSU, as well as a potential lucrative extension to remain at Ole Miss. Earlier this week, Kiffin’s immediate family — including his ex-wife Layla and their children — reportedly visited both Gainesville and Baton Rouge on Sunday and Monday while the 50-year-old Rebels coach remained in Oxford during the team’s bye week.

Lane Kiffin denies receiving ‘ultimatum’ from Ole Miss administration amid Florida, LSU interest

Of course, all this is taking place while Kiffin has No. 6 Ole Miss (10-1, 6-1 SEC) on the verge of achieving the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff berth with just next week’s Egg Bowl rivalry game with Mississippi State remaining on the schedule. There’s also been reports the Rebels administration has given Kiffin a deadline to decide whether he’s staying or leaving, though Kiffin denied any such ultimatum during a Tuesday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.

“That’s absolutely not true. There’s been no ultimatum or anything like that at all,” Kiffin told McAfee on Tuesday. “I don’t know where that came from, like a lot of stuff that comes out there. Like I said, man, we’re having a blast. I love it here.”

And, should Kiffin ultimately reach out to Smart for advice on his pending life decision, maybe the veteran Georgia coach will have more to say than “to each his own.”