Lane Kiffin Uses Brian Kelly As Example That Coaching Expectations Are Changing

The coaching carousel across college football is heating up with Ole Miss Rebels decision-maker Lane Kiffin emerging as the most popular candidate on the market.

LSU and Florida remain serious threats to lure Kiffin out of Oxford with the pair of SEC programs pushing to land the Ole Miss Rebels shot-caller this offseason.

Kiffin hopped on The Pat McAfee Show to reveal where his head is at with one regular season game to go - using former LSU head coach Brian Kelly as an example that he must remain focused as expectations change across college football.

“I know that (they’re going to try to fire me if we lose the Egg Bowl). I know that,” said Kiffin. “I’ve said, when they’re like, all this stuff, and they’re like, are you focused on other places? I say, no, I’m focused on winning, because now what I’ve learned in college football – we have our little group chat with like Sark and Kirby and a couple guys, and we came up with this.

"You lose one, you’re out of the Top-10. You lose two, you’re out of the Top-25. You lose three, you get fired. So, you know, we’re focused on our job of trying to get to 1-0 every week, because that’s the profession that we’re in now.”

Ole Miss Rebels Football. — Nov 15, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin embraces linebacker Suntarine Perkins (4) during the second half against the Florida Gators at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

“Yeah, I mean, we just saw that with Brian Kelly,” Kiffin referenced later on. “That’s exactly the scenario that just happened.”

No. 5 Ole Miss (10-1, 6-1 SEC) is within striking distance of earning the school's first College Football Playoff berth as Kiffin looks to avoid a second loss on the year with Mississippi State waiting on Nov. 28.

“There’s too many variables. Because, everybody’s like, well, you’ve got to get to the top-twelve teams," Kiffin said. "Well, now we’re finding out, depending on how other things go, you really got to get to the top-ten teams to make sure you make the playoffs, because two of the teams might not even be in the top-twelve."

"They could be twenty or twenty-five or something with the current, flawed system,” added Kiffin. “So, like you said, everybody’s like, well, man, you better be in the top-twelve. No, you better make sure you’re in the top-ten, or you might get left out.

“So, I ain’t worried about other stuff. I’m worried about making sure we win.”

No. 5 Ole Miss will return to action on Nov. 28 for a regular season finale clash against the Mississippi State Bulldogs following this week's open date.

More Ole Miss News:

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