Lane Kiffin Responds To Report About Auburn Job, After Discussing Current Status At Ole Miss And Contract

While Ole Miss is preparing for the upcoming Thanksgiving night Egg Bowl against Mississippi State, the conversation around Oxford is on the coaching future of Lane Kiffin. There's no way to get around this question, without talking Auburn specifically, but Kiffin did his best to shutter the noise, at least for a few more days.

UPDATE: A report has surfaced out of Mississippi, claiming that Lane Kiffin plans to step down as coach at Ole Miss and take the Auburn job. OutKick has reached out to Kiffin regarding the matter and has not heard back from the head coach.

Lane Kiffin responded directly to the report which said he was resigning from Ole Miss and taking the Auburn job.

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Discussing the upcoming matchup with Mississippi State, Kiffin shed light on what this football team has accomplished in the past few years in Oxford. Having all eyes on them this week will be another recruiting tool, given that the 'Egg Bowl' will be the only college game on television Thanksgiving night.

"If you look at the three years, we've come a long ways with the program," Kiffin said at his weekly press conference Monday. "On-field success and whatever, 18 wins in the past two years and a chance at a 19th. I think we've turned over the roster and improved the roster, obviously improving on-field production and made the program a lot more visible nationally compared to when we got here. So it would be another notch to help that with a national audience on Thursday night."

Head coach Lane Kiffin' of the Mississippi Rebels. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)

Why Does A Fourth Contract Make People Feel Better?

Lane Kiffin was asked if his players have come to him and discussed his name being tied to other jobs. But it's not just his name, it's also the reported contract that Lane has been offered from Ole Miss, which he openly discussed.

"They don't. I think they know how we operate, they've been in this before. So, they don't even ask, they know how we do things here. A pro mindset of preparing everyday to get better and win. I don't know what else to say, I am extremely happy here, like we just talked about, the difference in where this program is now, compared to three years ago. I feel we have really good support.

"So, I can get up here and give you the pine-box speech. I am not gonna be the next head coach at Alabama, I can give you those things. So, I don't know what those mean (joking), I don't know what else to say. Been here three years and been fortunate enough to have three different contracts, so I don't know why all of a sudden a fourth contract makes people feel better."

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Social Media Distractions In Oxford?

It would be foolish to think that his players aren't following the news of his status in Oxford after the season finale. These are 18-22 year old men who live on their phones and social media, so the likelihood of them knowing the situation is pretty high. Still, Kiffin wonders if it's a distraction to his players.

"Yeah, I think about that. I've asked our coaches if they think that's an issue and they've said no. Like anything, we study the past. We played in the last game at FAU in the conference championship, and that morning ESPN leaked that we were the head coach at Ole Miss and the entire team knew. We went out and won by 40. These same questions were there the same week we were one play away from beating Alabama."

It's safe to assume that Lane Kiffin is tired of discussing the possibilities of what 2023 might look like for his coaching career. But until the regular season ends and Auburn hires a head coach, his name is going to continue being brought up. It's a product of success, but also a problem he can make go away pretty easily.

Only time will tell, with just three days left in the regular season.