ESPN’s Marty Smith pleads with Lane Kiffin to make a decision

Ole Miss and LSU fans aren’t the only people waiting for Lane Kiffin to put an end to the soap opera that is his decision on where to coach football next season. The impatience has extended to members of the college football media.

Specifically, ESPN’s Marty Smith is calling on a higher power to end this saga once and for all so we can get back to enjoying what we care about most: the football games.

Smith was live from Oxford, MS throughout the day on Saturday providing ESPN viewers with all the latest on Kiffin’s decision; a decision we thought would certainly come based on Kiffin’s remarks to reporters following Friday’s Egg Bowl win over Mississippi State. Alas, Saturday came and went with no official word. Smith’s prayers went unanswered.

.@MartySmithESPN texted Lane Kiffin: “Will there be a resolution tonight? Please God in Heaven tell me yes.”

Kiffin did not respond 😂 pic.twitter.com/nyIVDPcao0

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 30, 2025

Late Saturday night during an appearance on SEC Network, Smith shared a text message he had sent to Kiffin with SEC Football Final host Dari Nowkhah. “Will there be a resolution tonight? Please God in Heaven tell me yes,” Smith apparently asked the Ole Miss coach. Kiffin, unfortunately, did not reply, making for a late night.

Now, the circus seems destined to drag on even longer. After reports that Kiffin was to hold a team meeting with his Ole Miss players on Sunday morning, new reports have surfaced that the meeting has been pushed back to the afternoon.

By the sounds of things, Kiffin is looking to convince Ole Miss administrators to allow him to coach his playoff-bound Rebels team before departing for LSU. It’s an unprecedented situation to put Ole Miss in, as Kiffin would simultaneously be coaching for the school while recruiting players and coaches — some of whom are likely in Oxford now — to play or work for him at LSU next season.

Hopefully, Marty Smith didn’t rush to book any flights out of Mississippi on Sunday, because it looks like he’ll be there for at least a little while longer.