Nov 15, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin stands on the sideline during the second half against the Florida Gators at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

If Lane Kiffin bails on Ole Miss in the midst of its College Football Playoff push, he'll have nobody to blame but himself if he becomes one of the greatest villains Oxford has ever known.

Kiffin's Ole Miss is 10-1 and a virtual College Football Playoff lock as long as it can take care of business against sworn enemy Mississippi State in the annual Egg Bowl next Saturday in Starkville.

In absolutely inexplicable fashion, next Saturday's Ole Miss game might be Kiffin's last as he mulls open jobs at LSU and Florida. On Saturday's College GameDay, former coach Nick Saban blamed the college football calendar for sticking Kiffin in a crummy position with how specific dates impact coaching searches.

LANE KIFFIN: Is Florida still in play for Ole Miss coach?

"This is not a Lane Kiffin conundrum," Saban argued. "This is a college football conundrum that we need some leadership to step up and change the rules on how this gets done in terms of coaching searches and opportunities for people to leave."

Can the NCAA change date for the transfer portal and the early signing window? Sure; in and of itself, it's not a terrible strategy. However, removing any of Kiffin's culpability in this particular situation is bonkers logic.

Saban's argument for Kiffin makes it seem like he's a poor duckling caught in a whirlpool of poor college football management, like LSU and Florida are throwing baseballs at the target to send him straight to the dunk tank against his will. Kiffin sucking all the oxygen out of the room in one of the best seasons in Ole Miss' history for his own gain is Kiffin's decision and Kiffin's decision alone. If he decides to leave prematurely, it's on him when there's backlash.

Even if LSU has a big-money deal for him on the table, he doesn't have to take it. He could try to prove to the world he's actually worthy of such a deal by pushing Ole Miss as far as it can go in the College Football Playoff instead of jumping ship at the thought of padding his bank account. He could decide to honor the commitment he made to his players — especially when he surely demands they put the team above all else.

He could end the media circus around his job future at such a delicate time in the season. But he hasn't and won't.

Kiffin has plenty of talent, plenty of resources and the willingness from the powers that be to spend those resources at Ole Miss to win regularly. He can build his cult of personality among Ole Miss fans until he's ready to retire. If he keeps winning like he does, they'll eventually build him a statue outside of Vaught–Hemingway Stadium. He's achieving at Ole Miss what LSU and Florida have struggled to do in recent years, and now he wants to bail?

If Kiffin decides to drop Ole Miss for a bigger salary, then that's on him. He has to live with the consequences of leaving his football team high and dry during such a historic season with potential for more.

Nobody's forcing him into an exit. Nobody's making him potentially abandon a great team surging upward. Nobody's commanding him to hog the spotlight to fuel his ego. Nobody's prodding him to leave a good thing while it's great.

While Kiffin is free to do what he wants, trying to peg him as a victim of the system just feels silly. He has the autonomy to basically do whatever he wants. If he wants to leave Ole Miss and damage its College Football Playoff chances for personal gain, he shouldn't be able to hide behind the cruel, cruel circumstance of a sports calendar. He should own his selfishness and live with the fallout from it. Nobody should make excuses for his decisions.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Lane Kiffin is the villain, not the victim, in coaching carousel circus

Reporting by Cory Woodroof, For The Win / For The Win

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