Ole Miss survived Florida scare, but Lane Kiffin's uncertainty still casts shadow over potential CFP run
While Kiffin has remained mum about his future amid blue blood interest, his team's performance against Florida spoke volumes about the situation
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Will he stay or will he go? Unless Lane Kiffin has already informed both sides of his intentions, the continued back-and-forth around the Florida vacancy has to be wearing thin on the powers that be at No. 7 Ole Miss.
The likely College Football Playoff-bound Rebels -- who needed 224 yards and three touchdowns from Kewan Lacy to hold off the Gators on Saturday night -- have dealt with steady interference since Kiffin's name surfaced at the top of Florida's coaching hot board following Billy Napier's firing.
There's a reason Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter has said publicly since October that the school envisions a Curt Cignetti-type deal to keep Kiffin in Oxford. And, on the other side, there's a reason Kiffin hasn't removed his name from Florida's list of candidates.
Until that extension is signed, his future hangs in the balance.
Behind closed doors, there has to be some level of concern at Ole Miss. On the brink of the program's first playoff appearance, the coach who got them here could be eyeing Florida -- and the slow-bleed nature of it all is what stings.
Distractions, distractions and more distractions.
Outside of Lacy's brilliance, nothing about Saturday night looked right for the Rebels. Facing a Florida team coming off a 31-point loss at Kentucky, Ole Miss never found second gear. There were red-zone miscues, an interception from Trinidad Chambliss nearly returned for a score, and a 10-point lead that vanished in two minutes on touchdown runs by DJ Lagway and Jadan Baugh.
Only after the Rebels' first sack of Lagway with 1:56 left -- deep in the shadow of Florida's end zone -- could Kiffin finally exhale.
Did he spend more time on social media fueling rumors than game-planning? Of course not. But his looseness in the public eye isn't helping a team with national title aspirations stay focused on its end-game.
Kiffin brushed aside much of the Florida chatter during Week 12 prep, instead laying out his criteria for what makes a job a college football "blue blood."
"People will say it's narrowed, and some stuff has narrowed because you can't stockpile [talent] at those blue bloods," Kiffin said. "But there are still things where you're gonna struggle to beat those guys because kids get recruited, and they see the size of stadiums, traditions, Heismans and national championships. Then your location to talent. I think all of those are in there."
How many of those boxes does Ole Miss check?
Losses to Kentucky and Florida kept Ole Miss out of last year's playoff push, and before that, a stumble at LSU in 2022 sparked a late-season slide.
It nearly happened again Saturday night -- against a program that has been circling Kiffin since the middle of the 2024 season, before Napier briefly righted the ship.
How long will Florida wait for his answer with the Early Signing Period approaching and portal priorities looming? Both programs want clarity. Only one still has something meaningful to play for. And at this point, dragging it out serves no one.
