With the final week of the regular season underway, the college football world seemingly revolves around Lane Kiffin.
And in case you needed a reminder of what makes the Ole Miss head coach such an intriguing character — beyond his impressive coaching acumen — look no further than the interview he gave to ESPN’s Marty Smith ahead of Friday’s Egg Bowl.
Before getting to the topic that everybody is actually wondering about — whether Kiffin will remain at Ole Miss or leave for LSU or Florida — Smith opened the interview up with a relatively boilerplate question about the meaning of the Rebels’ in-state rivalry with Mississippi State. The head coach’s response, however, was anything but business as usual, as he proceeded to accuse the Bulldogs of breaking into his team’s locker room overnight.
“Our equipment manager put cameras in the locker room so we could watch Mississippi State break into our locker room and start stealing things,” Kiffin said. “We reported it to Mississippi State, they said, ‘we’ll put security’ and how about this: at 3 o’clock in the morning, they break in again and take [quarterback Trinidad Chambliss’] jersey. So I guess you expect nothing less from these people.”
Kiffin directing his attention toward the fans in Starkville provided Smith with an opportunity to note that they were also questioning his future in Oxford. And after the ESPN reporter referred to the 50-year-old as “prettiest girl at the dance,” the former Alabama offensive coordinator embraced the compliment, before returning the favor.
“Thank you for the ‘pretty’ compliment. You have the prettiest outfit around today,” Kiffin said, noting Smith’s light plaid sport coat.
.@Lane_Kiffin pregame chat with @MartySmithESPN 👀 pic.twitter.com/vmh0hzsrIa
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 28, 2025
From there, it was likely what you would have expected, with Kiffin avoiding directly addressing his future and maintaining that his focus remained on Friday’s showdown with the Bulldogs. Whether it will prove to be his final game coaching the Rebels remains to be seen. But we’ve at least now learned that he’s reportedly narrowed his choices between remaining at Ole Miss or heading to LSU, as the rest of college football eagerly awaits one of the most high profile coaching announcements in recent memory.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.