Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss squad is undeniably thriving. But knowing his history, nobody’s really betting on him sticking around forever. With that NFL gig on his resume and a rep for bailing kind of quick—just ask Tennessee and USC—his long-term future remains a guessing game. The Rebels’ current success only intensifies this speculation: Will Kiffin depart before fully realizing their potential, or will he be the one to finally guide them to the playoffs? Well, one thing is certain…Kiffin has never been one to settle down for too long.

The chatter linking Lane Kiffin to the Florida Gators is far from new. Since last season, the possibility of this move has generated significant buzz, and frankly, Bill Napier’s rocky tenure made the connection an easy narrative. Even Paul Finebaum didn’t mince words: “They want Lane Kiffin.” This speculation gained traction when the Gators stumbled to a 5-7 record in 2023, a performance they’ve impressively redeemed with an 8-5 record this season. While Florida might now be out of the picture, Auburn certainly wasn’t. And that’s precisely what Neal McCready discussed on The SEC Football podcast.

“I don’t know because at the end of the day, Florida didn’t open up, right? So you know there’s no way to know emphatically whether Lane Kiffin would or would not have gone to Florida because the Florida job never opened. The Auburn job opened, and he thought hard about it and has admitted that he thought hard about it,” McCready explained, delving into Lane Kiffin’s loyalty to Ole Miss.

“How loyal is he? Well, he’s been there six years.” Then, SEC Mike pointed out his family’s establishment in Oxford. “Now, seemingly, he’s got all his family there, right?” To which Neal responded, “I mean, just about almost literally everyone.” And that’s likely the key factor that kept Lane Kiffin from taking the Auburn job.

Numerous reports indicated Kiffin’s inclination towards Auburn, with even Chris Low stating back in 2022, “Kiffin was leaning toward taking the Auburn job.” But then his eldest daughter, Landry, who was a student right there at Ole Miss, asked him something that made him stick around Oxford. “You left me one time for another job when you went to Alabama, and now I’m here with you and you’re going to do it again?” Now, with his entire family there, including a reconciliation with his wife, Layla, Oxford has become HOME.

Adding to this stability is the potential for his son, Knox Kiffin, to join Oxford High, making it a win-win situation for Lane Kiffin. And let’s not overlook the significant financial incentives….

A $9 million contract extension and a $45 million contract that runs till 2030 for Kiffin? Ole Miss clearly pulled out all the stops to keep their HC in Oxford. “He’s making a ton of money—it’s nine-plus million dollars. They’ve basically given him everything that he wants,” Neal emphasized.

Beyond the lucrative contract, Ole Miss also granted Lane Kiffin’s request to hire Pete Golding as their linebackers coach. “The people in the athletic department have done everything; they’ve bent over backwards to accommodate his request. He’s assembled a very good support staff that’s well paid. They wanted Pete Golding; they paid for Pete Golding.” They made it incredibly difficult for him to leave. Plus, they did something truly unique.

Neal McCready made sure the entire sports world took note: “They’ve made his dog the mascot. How many other programs around the country [would do that]? Florida not going to let Juice Kiffin run out and be the mascot….maybe they’ll dress Juice up in a crocodile costume and run him out. But at Ole Miss, they just put a light blue collar on him, and he runs out, and everybody, you know, does his name.” That gesture alone speaks volumes about their commitment to keeping him happy.

However, it’s not just the current perks but also his formative experiences that molded Lane Kiffin into the exceptional coach he is today. And his journey wasn’t always smooth sailing….

Lane Kiffin’s tough admission on Nick Saban

Reflecting on his time as Alabama’s offensive coordinator under Nick Saban (2014-16), Lane Kiffin offered a candid perspective on their relationship. He likened it to a parent-child dynamic, saying, “That relationship’s like almost in a way how you can struggle sometimes—maybe when you’re in it with a parent and then, you get out, you get older and you get out of the house.” But their initial interactions weren’t seamless.

Kiffin openly acknowledged early friction, taking full responsibility: “There was friction initially. I looked back, it was all my fault. I’m the assistant. He’s the head coach. Whatever he says, goes.” He now views that challenging period in Tuscaloosa as pivotal to his growth, despite the difficulties. Kiffin didn’t step into a collaborative environment; he entered Saban’s rigidly controlled empire.

“His way is very, this is the way. There’s not open discussions about it and stuff.” This top-down structure clashed with Kiffin’s independent spirit. He didn’t arrive simply to follow orders—he brought ambition and his own ideas. But Saban’s program wasn’t about suggestions. “No, no, it’s not like a suggestion box. ‘Here’s a good idea.'” Kiffin needed this dose of reality.

Even victory offered no respite. “We won a national championship, and there was a 7:30 staff meeting the next morning.” A bewildered Lane Kiffin questioned, “What are we meeting on at 7:30 the next morning?” And Nick Saban didn’t flinch. “‘We’re behind, you know, because we won the championship. Everybody else was recruiting.” That moment starkly illustrated Alabama’s relentless pace—no time for celebrations, no breaks allowed.

Looking back, Kiffin appreciates Saban’s unwavering discipline. “Now that I look back, I’m like, okay, he was so strict on everything. Kind of like in a parent way,” Kiffin reflected. This consistency was the bedrock of Alabama’s identity and significantly shaped Kiffin’s own coaching philosophy. “It’s why he is what he is. It’s why he was so great because it was, like, the standard never changed no matter what.”

That never-wavering standard? Saban lived it, wins or losses. Kiffin gets it now, gives the man his props, and while he’s running things at Ole Miss (and probably not bailing anytime soon), you can see where he picked up some of that grit.