SI

Old Lane Kiffin Post About ‘Greener Grass’ Resurfaces Amid LSU Coaching Rumors

Kristen Wong

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has been linked to the LSU and Florida head coaching vacancies in recent weeks.
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has been linked to the LSU and Florida head coaching vacancies in recent weeks. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
In this story:

The clock is ticking for Lane Kiffin as he mulls over his coaching future during what could be the 50-year-old's final days at Ole Miss.

Kiffin has been linked to the Florida and LSU head coaching jobs in the last month after those schools fired Billy Napier and Brian Kelly, respectively. The Rebels coach has insisted in team press conferences that he "loves it here" but declined to give a definitive statement that he's sticking around, with the rumors only continuing to grow after Kiffin reportedly received an ultimatum from Ole Miss to make a decision by the Rebels's regular season finale on Nov. 28.

The rampant speculation couldn't be coming at a worse time, as Ole Miss is on the cusp of making their first College Football Playoff appearance after clinching their 10th win of the season against Florida.

Amid all the buzz over his coaching future, one of Kiffin's social media posts from September 2022 has resurfaced. In the post, Kiffin shared a photo of his dog, Juice Kiffin, sitting on the grass at Ole Miss' home stadium alongside ESPN reporter Laura Rutledge. In the caption, he wrote:

"Dude @LauraRutledge⁦⁩ That’s my dog!!! Get back home ⁦⁩@JuiceKiffin she’s a Gator and will try and convince you to leave. Grass isn’t always greener, son, sometimes it’s just green. #StayInTheSip"

Whether Kiffin truly believes the grass is greener at LSU or UF, two arguably more desirable jobs in college football, will be put to the test this November.

Kiffin, who previously coached at Tennessee, USC and FAU, joined Ole Miss back in 2020 and has an impressive 54-19 record with the Rebels, including his three straight double-digit win campaigns in the last three years. He'll be weighing a tough decision in the next few weeks: walk away from his playoff team and start fresh, or stay loyal to the program he's helped to build over the last six seasons.

More College Football on Sports Illustrated

feed

Published
Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

Home/College Football