The 2025 Ole Miss football team has exceeded expectations, especially after last year. That is a credit to Lane Kiffin and the coaching job he has done this year. Kiffin has been the subject of coaching rumors before. Still, with the biggest coaching carousel ever on the horizon, it's only a matter of time before Kiffin's name gets brought up elsewhere, like Penn State or Florida.
With the coaching carousel ready, Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said he wants to lock up Lane Kiffin with a new contract. When interviewed by On3 Sports' Ole Miss website, “The Ole Miss Spirit,” Carter said it is the biggest goal for the Ole Miss athletic department and compared it to what Indiana did with how they locked up Curt Cignetti to a new deal.
“Of course, I’ve been talking with Jimmy, and I’m going to be proactive with working out a deal with Lane and Jimmy,” Carter said. “I’d love to finish something like Indiana did with Curt Cignetti before the silly season starts. We’ll see. Lane’s happy here, but you never know what can happen with coaches. That’s why I’m being proactive in this process.”
Kiffin is already making $9 million this year in a deal that runs through 2030. That deal automatically extends each year the Rebels win seven regular-season games. If the Rebels win on Saturday against Georgia, that would get triggered again.
Kiffin is 27-5 since 2022, with a 14-5 mark in SEC play. A win Saturday would put Ole Miss on the path to its first College Football Playoff berth in school history. No. 14 Oklahoma is the only remaining ranked team on its schedule, and the schedule might also afford Ole Miss the ability to lose at least one game, but maybe two games.
Last year, Kiffin discussed what it has been like at Ole Miss and whether it makes sense for him to stay for the long haul.
“People said, ‘Oh, you got here and helped Ole Miss football,'” Kiffin said, “[but] I needed Oxford a lot more than it needed me. Ever since then, Landry came here and went to Oxford High School, and moved here with me to come to Ole Miss. It's been exceptional, and I appreciate them bringing us here and embracing us. It's been awesome.”
It also seems like Kiffin has learned his lesson from constantly job-hunting. While the sport has elite jobs, Kiffin seems happy at Ole Miss.
