The will-he-won’t-he situation surrounding Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin and whether or not he’ll leave to take another job reached a fever pitch this week.
Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter attempted to calm things down with a statement on Friday. According to ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, it didn’t have the intended impact.
Earlier this week, The Athletic reported that the school gave Kiffin an ultimatum. He would have to decide whether he was staying at Ole Miss or, if he were considering another job, leave before the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State on November 28. The coach denied that the ultimatum was given, but didn’t close the door either way. In the days since, it’s been reported that people close to him have shown up at LSU and met with Florida.
With no clarity or confirmation, Carter released a statement on Friday that explained Kiffin would be on the sidelines for the Egg Bowl, but that they are discussing “next steps” and that an announcement on the coach’s future would come after that game.
“Coach Kiffin and I have had many pointed and positive conversations regarding his future at Ole Miss, including meeting today with Chancellor Boyce,” Carter wrote. “While we discuss next steps, we know we cannot lose sight of what is most important – our sixth-ranked team that is poised to finish the regular season in historic fashion.
“Despite the outside noise, Coach Kiffin is focused on preparing our team for the Egg Bowl, and together, we want to ensure that our players and coaches can concentrate fully on next Friday’s game. This team is on the cusp of an unprecedented season, and it’s imperative they feel the support of the Ole Miss family in the week ahead. An announcement on Coach Kiffin’s future is expected the Saturday following the game.”
The wild aspect of all this is that the Rebels will likely qualify for the College Football Playoff, setting up the possibility that they will do so without the head coach who got them there. While some have speculated that there’s no way the school will allow him to coach in the CFP if he intends to leave, Finebaum thinks Ole Miss would have been better off saying nothing at all.
“I’ll be a little more blunt. I don’t think it accomplished anything. It was just a completely vapid statement that meant nothing other than, ‘We had a meeting today, and we’ll tell you in eight days,'” Finebaum said on Friday. “Everybody known to mankind is aware that, after the Egg Bowl, Kiffin has to make a decision.
“And, by the way, after that game next Friday, he could easily say he’s staying at Ole Miss and then the Ole Miss fans can be outraged that all of us mean, old media people just made such a big deal about nothing. But, it seems like Keith Carter just fed the beast there… I mean, if he had an agreement with Lane Kiffin, he would just gone ahead and said, ‘We met today, and we’ve agreed to a new [contract].”
Given the unprecedented nature of the situation and the lack of firm answers, it’s understandable why the school would want to offer a message to its fans. However, to Finebaum’s point, Carter used a whole lot of words to essentially say nothing.
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.