Lane Kiffin rejects narrative his decision distracts Ole Miss players: 'We train them to focus'

Tomorrow, Ole Miss is expected to announce where Lane Kiffin plans to coach next season. After the Rebels’ 38-19 win over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Friday, Kiffin revealed he wasn’t concerned the impending announcement would distract his team.

“What you may think is distracting, I don’t think it is,” Kiffin said. “We train our players to focus on what they can control, and block out noise. At FAU, there’s an announcement we’re coming here, and we go out and win 49-6. I wasn’t concerned this week.”

Ole Miss certainly looked focused in the blowout victory. The Rebels tallied 545 total yards of offense against Mississippi State.

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss completed 23-of-his-34 pass attempts for 359 yards and four touchdowns, without throwing an interception. He was far from the Rebels’ only standout.

Running back Kewan Lacy led Ole Miss with 143 rushing yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Earlier this week, Chambliss echoed the idea that Ole Miss was unaffected by drama around Kiffin.

“To our fans, this team is completely locked in, living in the moment, and staying true to our 1-0 mindset for the Egg Bowl and future games. We are unbothered by anything about next year and fully trusting Coach Kiffin’s leadership to keep us moving toward our goals!” Chambliss wrote on X.

Now, barring an unforeseen circumstance, Ole Miss will make its first College Football Playoff appearance in program history. The Rebels finished the season 11-1, Kiffin’s best record throughout his six seasons in Oxford.

On Friday, On3’s Chris Low reported that Kiffin will not be coaching at Florida next season. Thus, it’s between Ole Miss and LSU for the 50-year-old HC. Evidently, Lane Kiffin himself still doesn’t know where he’ll be coaching next season.

“No, I haven’t (made up my mind),” Kiffin told ESPN’s Taylor McGregor on Friday. “I’ve got a lot of praying to do to figure that out tomorrow, but right now, I’m just going to go enjoy these players. I told them last night, you’re going to win your 11th game, and all I want to do is experience joy watching you, and that’s what I’m about to do.”

Ole Miss needs Texas A&M and Alabama to lose this weekend to appear in the SEC Championship game. The program has never made a conference championship game appearance. Kiffin could have a chance to make more history if all goes well for the Rebels.