There are plenty of reasons to believe Lane Kiffin could take up the Florida or LSU coaching role. And there are some to believe he won't.
And at the center of them all is the sheer commitment Kiffin has shown towards Ole Miss since 2020. Revamping a program from scratch, making it a prime transfer portal hub, and most importantly, building a roster good enough to go 7-1 with an almost sure-shot ticket to the college football playoff has been all Kiffin.
The No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels are in a sweet, sweet spot to be the next serious national title contender, and that is precisely one of the reasons why USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer believes Kiffin won't flee for Florida, or now, LSU.
"Kiffin couldn’t possibly flee for Florida and leave behind a team that’s looking like a slam dunk for the College Football Playoff, right?" Toppmeyer writes.
"But, so long as Ole Miss hunts in the playoff with at least a sliver of hope for the top prize, it’s difficult to envision Kiffin vamoosing, even if Florida is a perfect fit for a coach who idolized Steve Spurrier and coaches and quips like he's inspired by the Head Ball Coach."
Lane Kiffin's past still shadows his reputation
But there is still that tinge of doubt that the Rebels' head coach might fall prey to his past patterns.
About 15 years ago, Kiffin was in a similar situation at Tennessee, and he "made a traitorous turn out of Tennessee." The Vols fans still haven forgiven him for that.
What's to say Ole Miss fans won't be in a similar spot. After all, Kiffin relishes being a "wild card."
"Only a traitor, a renegade to his core, would leave this plucky squad that could ride into December with a 11-1 record, and surely Kiffin’s not a tr-- … OK, so there’s no such thing as a sure thing when it comes to Kiffin. He relishes being a wild card."
His total ambiguity in addressing the rumors isn't helping either.
Only his restored reputation and his squad being a solid-looking college football playoff contender stand in the way of Ole Miss fans believing that Kiffin won't leave Oxford for Gainesville — and it should be enough to hold onto for now.