How Oxford changed Lane Kiffin, and why Ole Miss doesn’t want to lose him to Florida football

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

OXFORD, Miss. − Past the tall oaks that line Lamar Street, The Square in downtown Oxford combines old south charm with nouveau riche amenities.

Among the posh boutiques, art galleries and bookstores, a sign outside one shop reads: "Kiffin to Florida, according to your mom's Facebook."

Rumors of Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss to coach Florida football has created a level of anxiety in this small, northern Mississippi college town of 26,801. In leading the Rebels to a 34-24 win over the Florida Gators on Nov. 15 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Kiffin posted his third straight 10-win season at Ole Miss, which has never been done in school history.

Kiffin has made Ole Miss football consistently relevant, with an entertaining offense that zips up and down the field with Ferrari-like speed and efficiency. Ole Miss has ranked in the top three in the SEC in offense in each of his six seasons at the helm.

The 50-year-old Kiffin continued to deflect questions about whether he would commit to Ole Miss long-term or wind up coaching at UF next season.

"As you get older, everyone always says the good old days, like remember the good old days, who everyone was good in high school." Kiffin said. "And I said 'Hey guys, think we're in the good old days right now.' So I think we're in them, I think for our fans, for our players, it's like this utopia of what's going on, so just enjoy it, because these runs don't happen often, anywhere."

What Ole Miss fans think of Lane Kiffin, Florida football coaching rumors

As Kiffin lives in the moment, Ole Miss fans are apprehensive about the future and whether he will stay loyal to the school that helped resurrect his head football coaching career. Kiffin had three successful years at the Group of Five level as head coach at Florida Atlantic, before re-emerging at Ole Miss, his first SEC head coaching job since his one-year stint at Tennessee in 2009.

"He's just been cutting edge on the whole change in college football, the NIL, and everything that comes with the transfer portal," said Daniel Roy, an Ole Miss fan from Vicksburg, Miss., who attended the Florida game. "He figured out a lot earlier it wasn't about picking up two or three guys, it was about changing things out regularly and that's put him in a good spot."

Asked if he's nervous about Kiffin leaving, Roy responded: "Yeah, but the thing about it is, he's put us in the good spot to where if he goes, the infrastructure stays, and I think they can get somebody that can continue the work. Maybe not at the high level but I don't think you will see a massive drop-off."

At "The Grove,” the iconic tailgate setting on Ole Miss's campus adjacent to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, co-eds in red dresses and white cowboy boots stroll with plastic cups in hand. Harrison Tomblinson, an Ole Miss alum from Bowling Green, Ky. who was tailgating was friends, admitted he was nervous about Kiffin leaving.

"I don't think anybody knows," Tomblinson said. "I think maybe 50-50 right now but when you are winning 10-games every year at Ole Miss … I don't want to lose him."

Florida fans who attended the game were more cautiously optimistic about the possibility of UF hiring Kiffin. Florida is in need of a savior to resurrect a football team that will endure its fourth losing season in the last five years. Kiffin fits that bill. Robert Arnall, a Gators fan from Fort Myers, attended the game in Oxford to cross the final SEC visiting stadium off his son's wish list.

"He's dynamic," Arnall said. "He reminds me of (Steve) Spurrier a lot, in the way he interacts with fans and with the media and I think that he would be a lot of fun to have in Gainesville, bring back the good old days."

Could family pull keep Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss?

Why mess with happiness? That's the question that is often asked as Kiffin has found comfort and clarity in Oxford. He gave up alcohol, red meat and bread five years ago, to become a better version of himself before his father, legendary NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, died in 2024.

A decade ago, Kiffin may have gone to a bar to release stress. That's been replaced by hot yoga sessions. On X (formerly Twitter), Kiffin sometimes quotes self-improvement books, with his latest post discussing the importance of "calming your own storms."

"You were never meant to control other people's emotional experiences and perceptions," the passage from Kiffin's post read. "You were meant to find integrity within yourself."

Kiffin's ex-wife, Layla (a former UF student and the daughter of the late former UF quarterback John Reaves) moved to Oxford with their son Knox, who is now the sophomore starting quarterback on Oxford High's football team. With Kiffin watching from the stands, Knox threw two TD passes in Oxford's opening playoff win over Hernando High on Nov. 14.

"He does seem happier but deep down, I don't think it would stop him," Tomblinson said. "I think he's going do what's best for him."

Less than two weeks from now, Ole Miss will face rival Mississippi State in a Friday game on Nov. 28. Kiffin is hopeful to watch Knox in another playoff game that night.

"We will play for the Egg Bowl to go 11-1 and he will play that night for a north division of the state," Kiffin said. "That's pretty cool."

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: As Florida football targets Lane Kiffin, anxiety grows at Ole Miss

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos