The rumors around Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for other competing schools such as the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators have been swirling over the past couple of days. The legendary coach had led the Rebels to a historic 10-1 season, but the growing tension around his future has been increasingly frustrating fans.
Seems like this frustration is now the sole focus of the media, who is missing out on interviewing LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey through this entire fiasco. After the Tigers defeated Tulane Green Wave on road in a 101-71 victory on Monday, Mulkey was frank about her lack of media exposure in the post-game interview.
“Drived over here from New Orleans? Let’s see. Who’s here from Baton Rouge? Y’all will always have my love and I will give you first interviews. All four of you,” Mulkey said.
However, she was quick to note which members of LSU media were present on the road or were focussing on Lane Kiffin’s flirting with the idea of joining the Tigers’ football coaching staff. To this, Mulkey added,
“I know y’all back home trying to figure out if we’re going to hire Lane Kiffin. Well, gotta get to the first news! Hate to tell you Lane was at Gainesville yesterday.”
The rumors of Kiffin joining LSU have intensified after the Tigers parted ways with Brian Kelly. However, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum is confident that Florida currently leads the race in landing Kiffin.
Is Hiring Lane Kiffin Worth A Gamble For The Florida Gators?
As of now, Lane Kiffin seems to be the biggest storyline in college football. After a historic season at Oxford, Kiffin has cemented his name as a legendary figure, with fans and players alike uneasy at the thought of his future at Ole Miss. However, things could quickly flip if the veteran coach ends up joining the Florida Gators at Gainesville.
Analyst Paul Finebaum analyzed all of these complications and issued a fair warning regarding this move on Monday’s episode of ‘McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning.’ The veteran analyst said,
“The damage to him, his reputation and career, and to the sport, quite frankly, would be beyond my words. To me, you work your entire career to get to a point like Lane Kiffin has gotten at Ole Miss, why would you torch it right now to get a job that you could probably get whenever you wanted?” (26:59)
Within six seasons at Ole Miss, Kiffin has helped the program rise as a national threat. Under him, the Rebels posted a 54-19 overall record with just 17 losses in the SEC. However, one must also note how Kiffin’s rumored interest in Florida also comes from his personal ties. Kiffin’s ex-wife Layla’s father, John Reaves, was a Gators All-American in the late ’60s. Also, Florida might be an option to consider since he had also coached Florida Atlantic from 2017-19.
Besides all of this, there has been talks around Kiffin succeeding Brian Kelly’s role at LSU as well. Reports claim Kiffin and his family visited both Gainesville and Baton Rouge on Sunday and Monday, respectively. However, any such announcement could deeply hurt Ole Miss’s chances for playoff contention, as the team is expected to make a deep run this season under his helm.
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