Here's Ole Miss football's best defense in keeping Lane Kiffin away from Florida or LSU

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OXFORD — The waiting game is a dangerous one in the 2025 college football coaching carousel. Florida, LSU or any other school that attempts to hire Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss will have to risk losing musical chairs.

The No. 7 Rebels (9-1, 5-1 SEC) are positioned to make the College Football Playoff. It starts with beating Florida (3-6, 2-4) on Nov. 15 (6 p.m., ESPN). If the season ended today, Ole Miss would be a No. 7 seed in the CFP and have a home matchup against Texas.

The CFP represents a chance for Kiffin to do something special in Oxford. It also represents a chance for the season to drag on.

Time is the underlying component to the multi-school Lane Kiffin pursuit. If the Rebels can get to a real-life victory formation or two in the College Football Playoff, it may also help run out the clock on Florida and other teams vying to hire Kiffin.

What is the timeline for Kiffin’s decision?

“I don’t know,” Kiffin said Nov. 10. “I’m not that far down the road. I said it last week and you guys think I was joking, during South Carolina. Everyone wants to talk about other jobs and everything. I think you are two, three weeks away from coaching for your own job.”

How CFP schedule could help Ole Miss keep Lane Kiffin

Although it wouldn’t prevent conversations happening between agents and school representatives, Kiffin is unlikely to bail on a team in the College Football Playoff.

The first round is Dec. 19-20. If the Rebels beat Florida and Mississippi State to close the regular season, they will be either a host in the first round or possibly a top-four team that gets a bye.

The second round is played Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Four teams will advance to the semifinals Jan. 8-9. The national championship is Jan. 19.

Would Florida, LSU wait on Lane Kiffin until Ole Miss’ season ends?

Coaches were hired before the College Football Playoff began in the first year of the 12-team playoff last season.

UCF hired Scott Frost on Dec. 7. Purdue hired Barry Odom on Dec. 8. North Carolina hired Bill Belichick on Dec. 11. Rich Rodriguez went to West Virginia and Dan Mullen went to UNLV on Dec. 12.

It all happened before the first CFP game on Dec. 20.

However, there were less prestigious jobs open last year, nothing on the level of a Florida, LSU or Penn State.

If Florida waits for Ole Miss’ season to end to hire a coach, it could be an all-or-nothing move. Maybe a deal could be worked out, but it would mean punting on a backup plan.

Other top names in the rumor mill — Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, USF’s Alex Golesh, Tulane’s Jon Sumrall, UNT’s Eric Morris and former Penn State coach James Franklin are a few options — may take other jobs while the Rebels are still playing in January.

That scenario would leave either Ole Miss or a team that banked on him coming without a top option as the transfer portal opens.

Transfer portal change could work in Ole Miss’ favor

Any coach going to a new school would be well-served to be situated before the transfer portal opens Jan. 2.

It’s a new, singular window this season. There is no spring window, so there’s no chance to clean up holes in the roster later in the year. Coaches who don’t take full advantage will not have to chance to recover.

The transfer portal window is Jan. 2-16, 2026. Players on teams competing in the championship game on Jan 19 get five extra days after the season.

Major movement tends to happen within days of the transfer portal opening. Look at Ole Miss’ transfer portal haul after the 2024 season. The stars came early.

The portal opened on Dec. 9. Three days later Ole Miss landed LSU defensive end Da’Shawn Womack and Charlotte offensive lineman PJ Wilkins. Within eight days, Kiffin had added edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen, running back Kewan Lacy, offensive lineman Patrick Kutas, wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling and tight end Luke Hasz.

Kiffin was asked Nov. 10 how much it matters to make a decision about his coaching future before the transfer portal opens.

“I ain’t figured all that out,” Kiffin said. “I’m trying to keep our winning streak and get to 8-0 at home.”

What about Lane Kiffin’s 2026 Ole Miss football recruiting class?

Then there is recruiting for the 2026 class and beyond. The early signing period is Dec. 3-5. Regular signing day will be Feb. 4.

The 2026 Ole Miss recruiting class is No. 20 in the 247Sports Composite recruiting rankings.

Ole Miss is No. 9 in the SEC behind Georgia (2), Alabama (3), Texas A&M (6), Tennessee (8), Texas (9), LSU (12), Florida (13) and Oklahoma (18).

The Rebels have tended to rely on the transfer portal more than high school recruits. Kiffin has put together a top-five transfer portal class in each year since 2022.

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How Ole Miss football can keep Lane Kiffin away from Florida, LSU

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