Lane Kiffin news: Live updates as Ole Miss coach mulls LSU, Ole Miss while Florida falls behind in race

Follow the latest updates and news as Kiffin is embroiled in a decision that could change the college football landscape

There is no bigger mystery remaining in the 2025 college football season than Lane Kiffin. 

Not the Ole Miss Rebels a team, to be clear; they're a College Football Playoff lock if they take care of business in the Egg Bowl on Friday. The questions all ping-pong around their coach, who is embroiled in a love triangle between Ole Miss, LSU and Florida that's captured the attention of the college football world and even dragged multiple politicians into the discourse -- and maybe even recruitment -- of college football's hottest coaching candidate. 

Kiffin, 50, has largely attempted to deflect questions about his future. But his actions say far more. He's sent his family to visit Gainesville and Baton Rouge. He's trolled on social media. It's a zany, shock-and-awe strategy that's part Kiffin and part of a maximum leverage play by CAA super agent Jimmy Sexton. 

Industry sources expect whoever signs Kiffin next will give him a contract valued at least at $12 million annually, which would make him one of the sport's highest-paid coaches despite never reaching the playoff. 

It's a saga worthy of a daytime soap opera treatment, and it's not expected to end anytime soon despite the fact Kiffin has told those close to him he wants to avoid the distractions of 2022 -- during his flirtation with Auburn -- that caused a 7-0 Rebels team to stumble at 1-3 down the stretch. 

Can Ole Miss avoid the same fate this year with the Egg Bowl coming up fast? What will Kiffin do? CBS Sports has the latest on all the Kiffin-related happenings below. 

[Nov 28, 2025 at 6:27 pm ET · Will Backus]

No. 7 Ole Miss likely secured its spot in the College Football Playoff with Friday's 38-19 win against Mississippi State. The Rebels also secured their first 11-win regular season in program history and claimed their third Egg Bowl in a row for the first time since 2002-04. 

But those accomplishments weren't the focus during ABC's broadcast of the Egg Bowl. They weren't the focus as Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin took the podium to address reporters following his team's victory. 

Everything Lane Kiffin said about his coaching future with Ole Miss after Egg Bowl win

Will Backus

[Nov 28, 2025 at 4:17 pm ET · Brad Crawford]

Seventh-ranked Ole Miss will be heading to the College Football Playoff this season for the first time in program history after hitting the 11-win mark following Friday's 38-19 victory in the Egg Bowl over Mississippi State. The Rebels are expected to earn one of the selection committee's seven at-large selections unless there's SEC chaos that provides Ole Miss with an unexpected opportunity in the SEC Championship Game next weekend.

The Rebels' seeding will be determined by two factors -- what happens with Lane Kiffin's pending coaching decision and how the handful of teams ahead and behind Ole Miss in this week's playoff rankings finish up. Finality is expected Saturday for Kiffin, who is mulling an exit to LSU or a new contract with the Rebels.

How the College Football Playoff Selection Committee would view Ole Miss if Lane Kiffin leaves Rebels

Brad Crawford

[Nov 28, 2025 at 4:15 pm ET · David Cobb]

While exiting the field after Saturday's win at Mississippi State, Lane Kiffin confronted Ole Miss reporter Ben Garrett, taking exception with a line Garrett used in a Monday podcast. Kiffin said, "you want to walk in here and call me a hoe? We'll see how it goes."

While breaking down the ongoing saga around Kiffin's future leading up to the Egg Bowl, Garrett referenced a song with the line "can't turn a hoe into a housewife."

"I feel it's appropriate," Garrett said. "It is what it is. You can't turn a hoe into a housewife. That's what's happened here."

[Nov 28, 2025 at 3:46 pm ET · David Cobb]

Moments after closing out a 38-19 win over rival Mississippi State, Lane Kiffin said he still hasn't decided whether he'll stay at Ole Miss or go to LSU. The Rebels improved to 11-1 (7-1 SEC) with the victory, marking the program's first-ever 11-win regular season.

"I've got a lot of praying to do to figure that out tomorrow," he told ESPN. "Right now, I'm just going to enjoy these players. I told them last night, 'you're going to win your 11th game, and all I want to do is experience joy watching you.' That's what I'm about to do."

[Nov 28, 2025 at 1:03 pm ET · Chris Hummer]

Speaking to ESPN's broadcast crew ahead of Friday afternoon's Egg Bowl, Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter told the crew he believed Kiffin "is staying" in Oxford. ESPN's Dave Pasch relayed the conversation during the second quarter of the game. Pasch also said that Carter told the crew he had a "contingency plan" if Kiffin were to leave.

Kiffin is expected to announce his stay-or-go decision between Ole Miss and LSU on Saturday.  

[Nov 28, 2025 at 12:25 pm ET · Brad Crawford]

Florida is prioritizing other candidates in its coaching search, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Friday ahead of the Ole Miss-Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl. Per CBS Sports' Richard Johnson, it became clear last week that the Gators were "running third" behind LSU and Ole Miss, and they've been interviewing other coaches while Kiffin decides on his next move. Despite uncertainty concerning his future, Kiffin said before kickoff that his team was not distracted by various reports and said it's something his locker room has dealt with for weeks. If the seventh-ranked Rebels beat the Bulldogs, they'll finish 11-1 with a shot at hosting a first-round home game in the playoff unless the selection committee's new "data point" -- should Kiffin leave for LSU -- nukes seeding.

[Nov 22, 2025 at 3:47 pm ET · Brandon Marcello]

LSU is preparing one of the richest contracts in college football history in an attempt to lure Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin to Baton Rouge, a person familiar with the discussions tells CBS Sports.

The deal is believed to be for seven years and worth as much as $98 million, the source said, and includes a significant promise that would make LSU competitive in revenue sharing and NIL, the source said. A formal offer has not yet been made. Kiffin is expected to make a decision on his future after next Friday's Egg Bowl against rival Mississippi State, Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter said Friday.

A seven-year deal averaging $14 million per year would make Kiffin the highest-paid coach in college football. Georgia's Kirby Smart entered the 2025 season with an annual salary of $13.3 million. Brian Kelly, the former LSU coach, was fired during the fourth year of a 10-year, $95 million contract. 

State laws in Louisiana complicate high-paying contracts for university employees, so LSU's contract is expected to include "easy-to-achieve" incentive bonuses, a source said. LSU's base salary will probably be capped at just north of $3 million with additional money coming from outside sources and incentives. Additional bonuses could push the lifetime value of the current offer above the $98 million threshold. 

LSU prepares robust term sheet in efforts to woo Lane Kiffin: Seven years and up to $98 million, plus bonuses

Brandon Marcello

[Nov 21, 2025 at 5:03 pm ET · Will Backus]

Ole Miss announced Friday that coach Lane Kiffin, who is mulling over his coaching future, will announce a final decision the Saturday following his team's Egg Bowl showdown against in-state rival Mississippi State. Kiffin's name has been connected to the coaching vacancies at LSU and Florida and he has reportedly met with officials from both schools as Ole Miss pushes for an appearance in the College Football Playoff. 

"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," Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said in a statement. "The 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." 

[Nov 21, 2025 at 1:10 pm ET · Carter Bahns]

LSU Tigers is in hot pursuit of Lane Kiffin in a coaching search saga that continues to dominate the SEC news cycle. And in the event the Tigers do secure Kiffin as their replacement for Brian Kelly, they already have eyes on targets for their assistant coaching positions, including one name particularly familiar to those in Baton Rouge: Ed Orgeron. CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz has reported that LSU is open to hiring its former head coach to a role on Kiffin's staff.

Read more below: 

LSU coaching search: Tigers open to Ed Orgeron returning as assistant if Lane Kiffin takes job

Carter Bahns

[Nov 21, 2025 at 1:03 pm ET · John Talty]

The tension is building in Oxford, Mississippi, and Lane Kiffin is trying to dissipate it with a friendly interview.

A day after a wild scene of plane tracking and Kiffin family members caught on camera taking a visit to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the Ole Miss Rebels head coach appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" to put on a forced smile and try to calm the waters. 

If you wanted any real clarity, this wasn't the show for you. The most notable point was Kiffin denying that Ole Miss administrators had ever issued an ultimatum that he must make a decision before the Egg Bowl. 

Read more below: 

Ole Miss wants clarity from Lane Kiffin. He's not in a position to give it. What's next?

John Talty

[Nov 21, 2025 at 1:09 pm ET · Cody Nagel]

Lane Kiffin insists he's not in it for the paycheck. With two of college football's premier jobs now open -- Florida Gators and LSU Tigers -- speculation has again turned toward the Ole Miss Rebels coach, whose name reliably surfaces anytime the sport's power programs go searching. But Kiffin made it clear Monday that financial offers won't dictate his next move.

"Just so you know, because you haven't known me very long, I have never made a decision based off money, nor will I," Kiffin said on "The Pat McAfee Show." "For a lot of people, they're just like, 'Well, money, and it does this and does that.' "I've seen too many examples in life where money does not buy happiness. So I'm never going to make a decision off of money, nor do I care about it. (My agent) Jimmy Sexton gets really mad when I say that. He's like, 'We got to get this. We got to get this.' And, I'm like, 'Jimmy, I don't care.' And he goes, 'I do!'"

Read more below: 

Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin insists money won't drive his job decision amid LSU, Florida openings

Cody Nagel

[Nov 21, 2025 at 1:08 pm ET · Brandon Marcello]

Lane Kiffin's career has transformed into a reality show, a soap opera packed with so many twists and turns that forecasting the next move for the hottest coach in college football is a fool's errand.

Whether he stays at Ole Miss Rebels or bolts for Florida Gators or LSU Tigers is anyone's guess. 

No. 6 Ole Miss (10-1) is on the cusp of its first-ever College Football Playoff, and yet the coach who has led the Rebels to unprecedented success -- three consecutive 10-win seasons -- seems unfazed by the frenzy he helped spark in Oxford. As speculation of his interest -- or lack thereof -- in Florida and LSU's job openings spread, the coach again refused to tip his hand Wednesday.

"I'm saying the same thing for six years," Kiffin said on an SEC teleconference. "I'm not talking about speaking on other jobs. I'm focused on this one."

Read more below: 

Keeping the SEC guessing: Lane Kiffin 'just living in the moment' as Ole Miss, Florida, LSU await answers

Brandon Marcello

[Nov 21, 2025 at 1:06 pm ET · Brad Crawford]

The circus that followed Ole Miss Rebels coach Lane Kiffin's flirtation with the vacancies at Florida and LSU added a new layer Tuesday after he slammed the idea of an "ultimatum" given to him by Rebels leadership. The Athletic reported that Ole Miss gave Kiffin a deadline to make a decision on his future by Nov. 28, the date of the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State Bulldogs.

"That's absolutely not true, anything like that at all ... I don't know where that came from," Kiffin said on The Pat McAfee Show in what appeared to be a pre-recorded clip. "I love it here. We're having blast. It just couldn't be better. You pray for things. Our fans prayed for this type of thing, now we're in the middle of it, so enjoy it."

Read more below: 

Lane Kiffin addresses Ole Miss 'ultimatum' report, talks playoff as Florida, LSU rumors circulate

Brad Crawford

[Nov 21, 2025 at 1:05 pm ET · Zachary Pereles]

The Ole Miss Rebels are 10-1, have secured a third consecutive double-digit-win season -- a first in program history -- and are on the cusp of their first College Football Playoff berth as well.

But after a win over Florida Gators and with an open date upcoming this weekend, all eyes and ears and rumors surrounding the Rebels are focused on what coach Lane Kiffin's next move will be ... if there is one.

Florida, which Kiffin's team beat 34-24 thanks to a second-half rally, and LSU Tigers are hot on the trail trying to whisk the 50-year-old coach away from Oxford, Mississippi, and the Tigers upped the ante Monday, sending a private plane to Oxford to pick up members of the Kiffin family and give them a tour of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, per Wilson Alexander of The Advocate.

In addition to the Baton Rouge trip, a Kiffin family member visited Gainesville, Florida, on Sunday as the Gators ramp up their pursuit of the Rebels coach, sources confirmed to CBS Sports' John Talty and Richard Johnson. 

Read more below: 

Lane Kiffin rumors: LSU sends private jet to Oxford for Ole Miss coach's family to tour Baton Rouge

Zachary Pereles