Latest Lane Kiffin update from Pete Thamel provides possibly even less clarity

Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin's silence has turned the whole of college football into a massive guessing game.

LSU throwing a wrench in Ole Miss' plan to keep Kiffin around with a massive $90 million deal only led to more speculation on what he would do. Even AD Keith Carter tried to get something out of him in their meeting on Friday, but was only met with a promise for some clarity a day after the Egg Bowl.

And it might look like a precisely calculated scheme to keep schools and media guessing to get the best contract he can, but per On3's Pete Thamel, it runs much deeper.

Is Lane Kiffin's silence a strategy?

"The people closest to Lane Kiffin genuinely have no idea what he is going to do," Thamel said on ESPN's College Gameday.

All they know is that one week from today, we should get an answer. Frankly, Ole Miss can't afford to wait any longer than that to know where Kiffin stands.

The situation is urgent as it gets in Oxford already, but the Egg Bowl preparations are somehow helping Ole Miss hold things together.

The 50-year-old head coach has made it clear that he would be there for the Egg Bowl, and nothing about what's coming after.

The ambiguity only makes sense if Kiffin was planning to leave all along after the Egg Bowl. He might still be mulling over his options between the Rebels and LSU, but at this point, it is unfair for Ole Miss.

The Rebels are finally getting a chance at the College Football Playoff after what could be called one of the best seasons in program history.

Imagine Kiffin clad in his shiny new LSU gear on Saturday after bringing home the Egg Bowl win on Friday, ditching the Rebels in a dire condition right before the Playoff that could translate to no Playoff at all for Ole Miss.

One thing's for sure, the fanbases are already on the brink of their patience. Any more evasiveness from Kiffin's end following the Egg Bowl will trigger a full-scale fan meltdown.