Paul Finebaum predicts Lane Kiffin is probably leaving Ole Miss

Nobody other than Lane Kiffin and perhaps his agent, Jimmy Sexton, knows for certain what the future holds for the Ole Miss head coach. However, during an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum provided his best guess on Kiffin’s plans.

“I think it will end sometime next Saturday with him probably leaving, and I say probably because that would mean I would be trusting a bunch of sources that I don’t even know who they are,” Finebaum said. “I had 10 people, as you guys did, tell me it’s LSU right now. The week before, it seemed like Florida.

“So, I mean, I’m out of guesses. And, I know that sounds silly for me to be this indecisive, but I’m going to lean into my inner Lane Kiffin and have no earthly idea what he’s doing.”

On Friday, Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter released a statement that said Kiffin’s future will be revealed on Nov. 29, the day after the Egg Bowl. With Carter not simply stating Kiffin is returning, many fans believe the impending announcement will include a new destination for the 50-year-old HC.

Both Florida and LSU are interested in hiring Kiffin. At the beginning of last week, Kiffin’s family toured Gainesville, Florida, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

On Friday, On3’s Pete Nakos, Brett McMurphy and Chris Low reported that Ole Miss, Florida and LSU are each expected to offer salary packages to Kiffin worth at least $13 million per year, and up to $14 million per year. For reference, Georgia’s Kirby Smart is currently the highest-paid college football coach, earning $13.28 million a year.

Kiffin must also factor his current team into his decision. He is on the cusp of guiding Ole Miss to its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance and it’s unclear if the school’s administration will allow him to coach in the postseason if he won’t be in Oxford next season. Finebaum believes Kiffin would be wronging Ole Miss if he accepts another job at this point.

“I don’t think it’s going to affect them that much, because by now, I think they’re used to Lane Kiffin and maybe getting it out of the way last week, and by Friday, it will have calmed down a little bit,” Finebaum said. “But I mean, it’s mostly a media generated story, except that there’s a ring master (and it) is Lane Kiffin and Jimmy Sexton, and at any point, at any time, they could have put an end to it. 

“And that is why I think most people are leaning into ‘Oh, he has to be leaving,’ even though all three of us know Lane Kiffin. … Let me stop myself right there and say this: If he ends up staying at Ole Miss, I think he has done that program a disservice by humiliating them in the process.”