Would Lane Kiffin leave 'this utopia' he's built with Ole Miss football?
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OXFORD – Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin may wind up choosing to leave Oxford, but it won’t be because he dislikes where he is right now.
No. 7 Ole Miss beat Florida 34-24 on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Rebels outscored the Gators 14-0 after halftime. The win keeps Ole Miss (10-1, 6-1 SEC) alive in the College Football Playoff hunt and sends Florida (3-7, 2-5) spiraling further.
Kiffin, who has been linked to the Florida opening since Billy Napier was fired in October, deflected a question about whether he anticipates being the Ole Miss coach in 2026. He said he is trying to enjoy where he is in his life.
“As you get older, everybody always says the good old days,” Kiffin said. “Like, remember when we were in the good old days? When we were in high school, and everyone always talks about how they were. I said, ‘Hey guys, I think we’re in the good old days right now.’ I think for our fans, for our players, it’s like this utopia.”
The home fans also made it known how they felt about Kiffin. After the win, Ole Miss fans chanted,”We want Lane, we want Lane.”
Kiffin was asked in his postgame news conference if he anticipates being the head coach at Ole Miss in 2026.
“I love what we’re doing here,” Kiffin said. “Today was awesome. I don’t talk about that stuff. To even talk about it here would be so disrespectful to our players and how well they played today.”
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Kiffin said part of what has made his life so sweet is getting to watch is son, Knox, play football.
Knox is a sophomore quarterback for Oxford High School. He led the Chargers to a 42-6 win the first round of the Class 7A playoffs on Friday. Kiffin watched from the sideline with comedian Theo Von.
“Seeing Knox play last night, the good old days that I tell my players, I’m in them right now,” Kiffin said. “For my life. I just think people don’t realize when they are in them.”
Ole Miss has gone on an impressive run since Kiffin took over the program in 2020. Before Kiffin arrived, Ole Miss had missed bowls games in four consecutive seasons. The Rebels have since made a bowl game in each of Kiffin’s five seasons and, after beating the Gators, reached 10 wins four times.
Kiffin is the first coach in Ole Miss history to lead the Rebels to 10 wins in three consecutive seasons.
Kiffin said he’s tried to soak the success in, and it’s been his advice to his players over the past two weeks.
“So enjoy it, because these runs don’t happen very often anywhere,” Kiffin said.
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 USA TODAY: Lane Kiffin coaching rumors: What he said after Ole Miss beat Florida
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