The Ole Miss Rebels find themselves in a tough situation despite entering the final stretch of the 2025 season with a 10-1 record and No. 6 position in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Lane Kiffin is the hottest name on the ongoing college football coaching carousel, fielding heavy interest from big-name schools like LSU and Florida.
The noise surrounding this situation is impossible to ignore as the Rebels prepare for their regular-season finale against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Nov. 28.
According to ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, there’s only one clean solution to the ongoing situation in Oxford.
Either Kiffin signs a lucrative contract extension to remain Ole Miss’ head coach, or the situation gets really “ugly.”
“There is one clean solution to the Lane Kiffin saga,” Thamel said on the ESPN College GameDay podcast. “The only clean and easy solution is he signs a very lucrative deal this week or early next week to stay at Ole Miss. Other than that, it’s going to be ugly reputationally, it’s going to be ugly internally.”
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Thamel noted that the Ole Miss fanbase is already “irate” about Kiffin’s potential departure from Oxford.
“I underestimated just how unforgiving the fans are going to be [if he leaves],” Thamel said. “… It’s going to be hard for Lane Kiffin to walk away.”
“… Actions would dictate that he wants to coach the rest of the season, coach in the playoff and also maybe explore one of these very good jobs that are open. The reality is to do everything would be very difficult, very contentious and quite messy.”
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Kiffin recently denied a report that Ole Miss issued an ultimatum for him to make a decision on his future before the Rebels’ Egg Bowl matchup against Mississippi State.
“That’s absolutely not true,” Kiffin said earlier this week. “There’s been no ultimatum or anything like that at all. So, I don’t know where that came from, like a lot of stuff that comes out there. We’re having a blast. I love it here.”
Kiffin and the Rebels have this weekend off as they prepare for their Nov. 28 clash with Mississippi State.