Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit Debate Whether Lane Kiffin Should Leave for LSU, Florida

Kiffin has the Ole Miss Rebels firmly in the College Football Playoff conversation, Saban weighs in on what could be next.

Oct 16, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football game analyst Kirk Herbstreit stands on the field during halftime of the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The coaching carousel is in full swing with Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin emerging as a hot commodity among job vacancies this fall.

With the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators gigs open, Kiffin has become the top target, according to multiple reports, as the coaching search heats up across the next few weeks.

But college football icon Nick Saban believes Kiffin may be in the ideal situation as the NCAA landscape changes.

Nick Saban's Take: Different NCAA Landscape

“In college now, everything is external,” Saban said on College GameDay. “How much money can you raise in your collective? What kind of marketing program do you have? How can you sort of keep your roster together based on all these resources that you can get?

"So who has been able to take these external factors and bring them inside the building and make the adaptations you need to make to have a successful program? And I think that’s what we’re seeing now, but that’s changed.

Oct. 4, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Former Alabama coach Nick Saban smiles as he is on set during ESPN’s College GameDay on location on the Quad at the University of Alabama before the Alabama versus Vanderbilt game. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“So you got a team like Indiana … who really never, traditionally, anybody looked at as a great job. And like Ole Miss, you know, Lane’s been really successful at Ole Miss, but how could you make the argument that LSU or Florida or any of those schools are better than Ole Miss based on the support that he has and how they’ve been able to manage things internally with all these external factors?

"So I think everybody needs to be very careful about how they evaluate their opportunity.”

Kirk Herbstreit Chimes In: Stay at Ole Miss?

“Isn’t that fascinating to think you would think as a young coach, your dream is to coach at Michigan or Alabama, but Arizona State last year is an example of what you’re talking about,” Herbstreit said of Kiffin and coaches in 2025.

“Indiana, you brought up Vanderbilt, (they’re) an example of that, Cincinnati right now … It almost makes you wonder if you’re a coach and you look at these opportunities like Kiffin … does it make sense to stay at Ole Miss, where you still have expectations, but if you go to LSU, you don’t make the playoff, you’re fired.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

“You go to Ohio State, you don’t make the playoff, you’re fired. You go to Alabama … Maybe that it’s kind of like college basketball. Gonzaga, Xavier Butler, University of Dayton, maybe those are the places to be instead of Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, where you better win now or your a** is gone.”

As the coaching carousel heats up, Kiffin remains at the forefront of the conversation with the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators looking to lure him away from Oxford.

More Ole Miss News:

National Analyst Believes Miami Dolphins Should Hire Ole Miss Football's Lane Kiffin

Ole Miss Football Great Doubles Down on Lane Kiffin to Florida Gators 'Not Happening'

Tony Vitello Pokes Fun at Ole Miss Football's Lane Kiffin in Goodbye to Tennessee

Join the Community:

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and Ole Miss Rebels On SI: @OleMissOnSI for all coverage surrounding the Ole Miss program.