The conversations about Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin seem to be taking on a different tone with some fans, and with a possible historic run and College Football Playoff implications looming, the pressure could be mounting on the sixth year head coach.
It’s the worst kept secret in college football the Florida Gators want Kiffin as its next head coach. Their fans wore t-shirts begging and pleading for his services this past weekend in Oxford for the Ole Miss victory over the Gators. Kiffin continued in his postgame
press conference to not tip his hand as to what he will do next – stay at Ole Miss or depart for another program.
It does seem however a good portion of the Ole Miss fanbase has become more than tired of this song and dance however. Indiana has had an extension signed with Curt Cignetti from his unprecedented success and interest from other schools. SMU also extended Rhett Lashlee this season to keep other programs at bay as well. Texas A&M locked down Mike Elko amid the programs first 10-0 start since 1992.
So why hasn’t Kiffin simply signed an extension and let the newscycle die? There’s certainly a lot of attention from the media on him and his program, which he has to appreciate. The bigger question is if Ole Miss will maybe use its bye week to issue an ultimatum to its coach… sign an extension or you won’t be coaching this team in the playoffs.
It seems like a big power move to pull at this juncture, but it may be the last lever athletic director Keith Carter can pull to keep the most successful coach since Johnny Vaught.
I personally think it won’t come to that, but I do think some very serious conversations will be happening by the end of this week to solidify the future of the leadership of the program. From the sources our meager staff has, there is some added pressure this week to get some answers before the Egg Bowl one way or another.
How would you treat this situation if you were AD Carter though? Enough games have been played, and its time to give us an answer. Or play it cool and wait for a decision after the playoff rankings are finalized. It’s why Carter was picked for the job, because he undoubtedly has a plan A, B and C going into this negotiation.
