For the first time since taking over in Oxford in 2020, Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels have beaten a ranked SEC opponent on the road. However, that wasn’t the only reason that the Rebels’ 34-26 Week 9 win over No. 13 Oklahoma was important for their head coach.
Now at 7-1, the sixth-year head coach has secured his fifth-straight season with seven or more wins and earned an automatic contract extension. Kiffin’s contract automatically adds another year with a seven-win season, and it now stretches through the 2031 season.
In case you were wondering, Lane Kiffin's contract just automatically got extended another year. https://t.co/FbzaK1DnKC
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 25, 2025
Lane Kiffin earns automatic contract extension amid Florida rumors
Kiffin wears a visor on the sidelines when he coaches because that’s what his idol, Steve Spurrier, did. And where did Spurrier spend the bulk of his coaching career? At the University of Florida. Now, with the Gators finally having moved on from Billy Napier, firing him after last week’s win over Mississippi State, rumors have begun to swirl regarding the program’s interest in Kiffin.
The extension won’t necessarily preclude Florida from poaching Kiffin from Oxford, but it could make the cost a bit more cumbersome.
Kiffin has won 10 games three times since arriving in Oxford and appears to be very comfortable leading the Ole Miss program. He has maximized the program’s financial resources as one of the nation’s best transfer portal talent evaluators, routinely reloading his roster each offseason. Now, at 7-1 with South Carolina, the Citadel, Florida, and Mississippi State left on the schedule, the Rebels appear to be locked into the College Football Playoff, which would be the first trip in program history.
There are still those who believe that Ole Miss does not have national championship upside as a program. Mississippi is not quite as fertile a recruiting ground as Florida is, and the Gators almost certainly have more money to spend on their roster. It’s so early in the revenue-sharing era, so it’s difficult to tell which teams will be able to compete at the highest level in the years to come, but Kiffin is doing a good job of it so far.
That could convince Kiffin to weigh his options while the job is open, but if he turns Florida down, then there’s a good chance that the 50-year-old intends to stay in Oxford for the long run, especially with his contract now extended through 2031.