Pete Thamel: ‘Hard to imagine’ Lane Kiffin staying at Ole Miss

ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel thinks this is the final season for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.

Appearing on ESPN’s College Football Live on Tuesday, Thamel said, “Right now, it’s hard to imagine Lane Kiffin coaching at Ole Miss next year. The opportunity that looms at either LSU or Florida is too big.”

“Right now it’s hard to imagine Lane Kiffin coaching at Ole Miss next year. The opportunity that looms at either LSU or Florida is too big.” 👀 @PeteThamel gives insight into the tension between Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss, LSU, and Florida as the season ramps up ✍️ pic.twitter.com/WhlTPmrCfR

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 28, 2025

Kiffin, 50, has led Ole Miss to a 7-1 record and No. 7 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll this season, with the most recent victory being as a road underdog at Oklahoma on Saturday (which led to media drama between Kiffin and Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables in the days since).

LSU fired Brian Kelly on Sunday after the Tigers were stomped at home by Texas A&M 49-25 on Saturday night, dropping LSU’s record to 5-3 on the season and 2-3 in SEC play. The Tigers went from being ranked No. 3 in Week 4 to now being unranked.

Florida fired Billy Napier after starting 3-4 (2-2 in SEC play) in a season filled with miscues. Napier put together a 22-23 record (12-16 in SEC play) at Florida with just one winning season (8-5 in 2024).

These are high-profile jobs with desperate programs that have deep pockets.

Then again, Kiffin is already competing for a national championship at a different SEC school. And on Monday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show, he made it clear that he has “never made a decision based off of money, nor will [he].”

“I have never made a decision based off of money, nor will I,” Kiffin said.

“I have never made a decision based off money nor will I..

Jimmy Sexton gets really mad when I say that” 😂@Lane_Kiffin #PMSLive https://t.co/qAXpBpIOWW pic.twitter.com/A9DLpZQ4kY

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 27, 2025

“I’ve seen too many examples in life where money does not buy happiness, so I am never going to make a decision off of money, nor do I care about it,” Kiffin continued.

“Jimmy Sexton gets really mad when I say that,” Kiffin joked about his agent (who’s had an eventful few days in college football).

The rumors about Kiffin will continue until there’s more clarity either with his own status or with the prominent job openings. And when Thamel — one of the top insiders in college football — suggests Kiffin will leave Ole Miss, that will only increase the chatter tenfold. There will be a lot of noise for Ole Miss to tune out as the Rebels try to make a College Football Playoff run this season.