BREAKING: LSU target Lane Kiffin locks in timeline for a decision

LSU Football’s push to hire Lane Kiffin as the 35th head coach in program history will have to wait at least one more week.

On Friday afternoon, Ole Miss Athletics Director Keith Carter said Kiffin will coach the Egg Bowl vs. Mississippi State next Saturday, then make an announcement on his plans for the future.

The decision to set a timeline for after the Egg Bowl follows a meeting with Kiffin, Carter and Ole Miss officials on Friday in Oxford.

“Coach Kiffin and I have had many pointed and positive conversations regarding his future at Ole Miss, including meeting today with Chancellor Boyce,” Carter wrote in a statement. “While we discuss next steps, we know we cannot lose sight of what is most important – our sixth-ranked team that is poised to finish the regular season in historic fashion.

“Despite the outside noise, Coach Kiffin is focused on preparing our team for the Egg Bowl, and together, we want to ensure that our players and coaches can concentrate fully on next Friday’s game. This team is on the cusp of an unprecedented season, and it’s imperative they feel the support of the Ole Miss family in the week ahead. An announcement on Coach Kiffin’s future is expected the Saturday following the game.”

Kiffin, who has spent six seasons at Ole Miss and carried the Rebels to a 10-1 record this season, is the LSU search committee’s top target to replace Brian Kelly, sources said.

Kelly was fired in late-October, with the school making the decision to part ways during his fourth season as head coach of the Tigers.

Kelly finished with a 34-14 record across his 48 games in Baton Rouge.

Kiffin has put together a 54-19 record during his six seasons in Oxford.

Prior to Kiffin’s arrival in 2020, the Rebels had just three 10-win seasons since 1971.

Kiffin immediately took the program to new heights, guiding Ole Miss to double-digit wins in three of the past four seasons.

Now 50 years old, Kiffin’s first head coaching job came in 2007 when Al Davis hired the 31-year old son of coaching legend Monte Kiffin to take over as head coach of the Raiders. After a 5-15 start, Davis fired Kiffin.

From there, his journey to becoming one of college football’s most well-known coaches began.

After being named the Tennessee head coach in 2009, Kiffin spent 2010-13 as head coach at Southern Cal. After a 10-2 finish in his second season with the Trojans, USC finished 7-6 overall in 2012. Following a 3-2 start in 2013, he was fired during his fourth year with the program.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who led LSU into the program’s glory days when he was hired as the program’s head coach in 2000, added Kiffin to his staff in 2014.

In his role as offensive coordinator under Saban, Kiffin spent three seasons at Alabama, which included a National Championship in 2015.

He left Tuscaloosa in 2016 to become the head coach at Florida Atlantic. In his first season, Kiffin led FAU to an 11-3 finish and 8-0 record in Conference USA. Following a 5-7 finish the following season, Kiffin’s third and final year in Boca Raton saw the Owls finish 10-3 with another first-place CUSA finish.

That’s when Ole Miss came calling. In 2020, the Rebels named Kiffin head coach after Matt Luke spent three seasons running the program in Oxford. Luke didn’t have a winning record in his three years as head coach, and after Kiffin’s first season brought a 5-5 finish, he went on to win at least 10 games in three of the next four seasons.

When LSU fired Kelly, and Florida fired Billy Napier, the Tigers and Gators both made Kiffin the top target in each program’s coaching search.

Now, the waiting game continues.

The news comes at the tail end of Kiffin’s 10-1 season with only the Egg Bowl remaining for the Rebels.

With a clear path to the program’s first appearance in the CFB Playoff within reach, Ole Miss, LSU and Florida fans will all have to wait out one more week before knowing the answer to where Kiffin will coach next season.

Kiffin’s announcement will come before the Early Signing Period for high school recruits set for December 3-5, and long before the NCAA Transfer Portal’s 14-day window open on January 2.

Stay tuned to The Bengal Tiger for more on this breaking news.