Lane Kiffin Reveals More Details About Decision to Stay at Ole Miss Over Auburn
OXFORD, Miss. -- The end of the 2022 season was not kind to the Ole Miss Rebels.
Not only did Ole Miss drop five of its last six games on the gridiron, but rumors surrounding head coach Lane Kiffin's possible departure to the Auburn Tigers grew very loud in the final weeks of the season.
On Tuesday, ESPN released a story where Kiffin detailed his decision to remain with the Rebels over the Tigers, and in his spring practice media availability on Tuesday afternoon, Kiffin went into more detail about the saga.
Kiffin stated that he is grateful for what he has in Oxford, especially with his daughter's plans to attend Ole Miss.
"You never know what they're going to write," Kiffin said. "I think I spent 90 minutes with them. Guys, there's not a day that goes by that I'm not grateful for Oxford, for Ole Miss. Especially with Landry here and her decision to go to Ole Miss. You're never going to be able to replace that time with your children.
"I needed Oxford and Ole Miss much more than they needed me. There's not a day that goes by that I'm not appreciative for my opportunity and support here. Being in that position where someone wants you and wants to keep you is really neat."
In the story from ESPN, Kiffin also mentioned that while those rumors brought their own set of struggles, it did provide some positives for the Rebels in the current NIL landscape of college football.
"You can look at it and say, 'All right, there's something we wish wouldn't have happened, and the whole Auburn thing was a distraction,'" Kiffin said. "But you can also look at it and say, 'If that didn't happen, what would the collective be?' And not just in what we signed in the last portal and recruiting class, but the future. Or, more importantly, keeping our own players."
For now, it appears that Kiffin is happy in Oxford, but if more rumors circulate in the coming months on his departure for another job, how will people react after these comments?
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