Lane Kiffin Credit: tik/Ole Miss

If Lane Kiffin announces Saturday that he’s leaving Ole Miss, he will have ended his tenure there in style.

After several weeks of speculation, rumors, reports, and criticisms over whether or not he’ll leave to take another job, Kiffin led the Rebels to a definitive 38-19 victory in Friday’s Egg Bowl despite his quarterback’s jersey being stolen beforehand and a full-on fight between the two teams taking place mid-game. The win moved Ole Miss to 11-1 and all but assured them a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Meanwhile, as he was leaving the field following the big win, Kiffin turned back to confront On3 reporter and Ole Miss podcaster Ben Garrett over comments he’d made earlier in the week.

“You want to walk in here and call me a hoe?” Kiffin said, standing face-to-face with Garrett. “We’ll see how that goes.”

Earlier in the week on his Talk of Champions podcast covering Ole Miss football, Garrett said, “can’t turn a hoe into a housewife; hoes don’t act right,” in reference to Kiffin’s reputation for job-hopping before his ongoing stint.

During the post-game press conference, Kiffin was asked about the confrontation and why he felt the need to do so amid everything else.

“I understand your guys’ job. I think things are fair. Like I say, with questions, those are fair questions. Maybe I can answer them. Maybe I don’t see them the same. But when you call someone a hoe, that’s a different level of stuff. ‘Can’t make hoes in the housewives’ or something like that. That’s about as bush league as stealing Trinidad’s jersey, like Mississippi State did last night. Luckily, we got another one, so I ain’t got any respect for that,” referencing a claim he made earlier in the day, that someone affiliated with MSU broke into the Ole Miss locker room and stole quarterback Trinadad Chambliss’s jersey.

While he might have been hoping to deflect away from the confrontation, Kiffin immediately received pushback on his answer from a reporter.

“I don’t either, but that wasn’t the comment,” said an unnamed reporter as Kiffin’s eyes went wide. “The comment was, ‘You can’t turn a hoe into a housewife; hoes don’t act right.’ It’s not calling you a hoe. It’s about commitment. That’s what really the question is. You wanted the commitment from people to ask you about where you’re committed to. You’re still not doing that. So you don’t think there’s anything wrong with getting upset about something so innocuous as that?”

While Kiffin’s face told a story about what he’d really like to say, it appeared at that point that an Ole Miss official tried to diffuse the situation, saying, “Let’s move on from that,” as Kiffin waved the question off.

I’m not playing down to your game,” said a miffed Kiffin before the press conference moved on. “I actually don’t even know your name.”

While Kiffin has received spirited defenses from several colleagues and ESPN broadcasters, his critics have questioned how this process has been a distraction for the program and what it would mean if he leaves before the CFP. We do not doubt that he’s tired of talking about it. For everyone’s sake, it’s a good thing it sounds like we’ll get an answer tomorrow.

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.