It’s a good time to be Lane Kiffin, the current head football coach at Ole Miss. That’s not just because his team is ranked seventh in the country and, barring a disaster against Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl, will be headed to the School’s first ever playoff appearance. It’s not because he’s earning $9 million a year on a contract that now runs until 2031. It’s not even because he can use his success as a comeback to the haters who labeled him overrated and perhaps more bark than actual bite. All of those are nice, but the real reason it’s good to be Lane Kiffin is because at this moment, he can write his own ticket for what he does next.
We’re entering the phase of college football known as the firing and hiring season, when head coaches who didn’t meet expectations get a pink slip while coaches on the rise go for an upgrade. Already, there’s a couple of five-star jobs on the market – namely LSU and Florida, blue blood football schools that haven’t performed as the booster class would like – which is winning a national title. These are both universities with huge checkbooks, great facilities, and a history of success – basically everything you need to win. And they’re both in the SEC, the same conference where Kiffin currently coaches. So even the recruiting transition would be easy. And the rumor is both Universities would offer Lane Kiffin between $13-14 million a year to coach there, plus a deep well for NIL money to pay players.
For their part, Ole Miss has made it clear they want Kiffin to stay. He’d likely get a raise from nine million, and probably most anything else he asked for. In the overall pecking order, Ole Miss lacks some of the resource of the top tier of the SEC – which could mean winning a national title might be tougher if not impossible – but the expectations would be just a bit lower. Meaning he’d probably have the kind of job security no one at LSU or Florida could ever imagine. Now, to use what little leverage they have, Ole Miss has said they want a decision by Nov 29, the day after their final game and before they look to the playoffs. The rumor is if Kiffin decides to go, he won’t get to coach the Rebels in the post season. Just in case you think it isn’t personal.
Sports reporters and pundits are dissecting every word and movement to get a sign of what might happen. Not that it matters, but Kiffin’s family has visited both Baton Rouge and Gainesville. To state the obvious, they will have a mansion in either as well as whatever beach resort they need to detox from football. And probably use of a private jet. I don’t think we’re going to get hints by looking at who has a better high school music program or what town has better pizza – for the record, I’d go with Gainesville.
Beyond the obscenity of the amount of money being thrown around for college coaches, this decision is really less about football, and more about life. And oddly enough, what matters in it. On the one hand, at Ole Miss, you’ve got a work and life situation that’s about as ideal as you can imagine. Great salary, they love you, probably job for life, but you’ll probably never reach the highest heights. On the other hand at LSU and Florida, there’s a chance for more, but it comes with uncertainty, and you’ll give away everything you’ve earned where you are. In some weird way, it’s not that unlike the decision a lot of us make, if we’re lucky, when offered a new job. Do I stay where things are good or take a chance at something more. And at what cost. Perhaps better put, what is it that you, or in this case Lane Kiffin, actually wants out of life. It’s why some folks are thrilled to stay in a job forever and others are looking after six months. Why some coaches stay in Division III sports and love it and others can’t stop dreaming about getting to the pros. And why this decision Lane Kiffin is about to make isn’t just about what football team he wants to coach. It’s about what he wants out of life – something that’s much harder for folks at LSU or Florida to control.
And why for the moment, it’s good to be Lane Kiffin.
Keith Strudler is the Dean of the College of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him at @KeithStrudler.
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