Lane Kiffin Job Decision Would Change The Playoff Rankings

The No. 7 Oregon Ducks and No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels are next to each other in the College Football Playoff rankings. There is a factor that can change these rankings that isn't due to on-field results. That factor is if Lane Kiffin remains the Ole Miss coach or not.

Nov 15, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin watches pregame warmups against the Florida Gators at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks came in at No. 7 in the newest College Football Playoff rankings released by the committee, and right ahead of them at No. 6 are the Ole Miss Rebels. Even though the Rebels are in a great position to make their first playoff, questions about the future of Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin continues to swirl around the program. 

Would the committee rank Ole Miss differently depending on what happens with Kiffin and could Oregon be a beneficiary of that?

Could Ole Miss Drop Behind Oregon in Rankings Without Lane Kiffin?

Nov 15, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin runs out of the tunnel prior to the game against the Florida Gators at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

A scenario that would be interesting to see is if Lane Kiffin accepted a different job before the final playoff rankings came out. Even if Ole Miss finishes 11-1, would Kiffin being gone be a sole reason for their ranking to change? On3’s Chris Low talked to a former committee member about this. 

“If you’re suddenly without your head coach when they do the final seeding, the coach who’s gotten you to that point, then they could definitely drop you in the seeding order and put you on the road,” the former committee member said. 

It would not be the first time a team dropped in the rankings due to them missing a player or coach and not a certain win/loss result on the field. Just two years ago, the Florida State Seminoles finished the season 13-0 and ranked No. 3 in the country. However, they had just lost star quarterback Jordan Travis to a season ending leg injury. 

The Seminoles offense was clearly not as dynamic without Travis, but it was still expected that their resume being an undefeated conference champion would keep them in the, at the time, four-team playoff. That was not the case. Florida State dropped two spots, out of the playoff just because of the injury to a player. 

Oregon Right Behind Ole Miss

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning looks toward the scoreboard in the first half as the Oregon Ducks face the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sept. 27, 2025, at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oregon could take advantage of this Ole Miss situation if they handle their business in their remaining two games against the USC Trojans and Washington Huskies. Oregon is currently in line for a home game, but there could still be some shuffling behind them and a possibility of someone sneaking ahead and taking a home game out from under them. 

If Ole Miss were to fall behind them, it would just about guarantee a top seven seed for Oregon if the Ducks finish 11-1. 

The No. 7 and No. 8 seed will each host a playoff game, so even if a team like Alabama jumped Oregon with an SEC title under their belt, there would still have to be another team to leapfrog the Ducks. 

However, if the playoff started today, earning the No. 8 seed and winning the first-round matchup would put the Ducks in line for a quarterfinals match against Ohio State. Based off what happened in the Oregon/Ohio State quarterfinal game, most fans would probably want to avoid the Buckeyes until at least a potential semi-final game. 

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Lane Kiffin Coaching Rumors 

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

Lane Kiffin has been the coach of Ole Miss since 2020. So far, 2025 has been his best season there. The Rebels are on the cusp of locking up a spot in the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. Ole Miss is 10-1 with just one game remaining this season against the rival Mississippi State Bulldogs,

Even with the recent success that Ole Miss has had, there are a couple job openings in the SEC that are considered by many to be better than Ole Miss; the Florida Gators and LSU Tigers. Both Florida and LSU fired their coaches midseason, leaving vacancies. 

Zavion Thomas 0 and Bauer Sharp 10, , LSU Tigers take on the Florida Gators. Sept 13, 2025; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; at Tiger Stadium. | SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The top name that has been thrown around for each of them has been Kiffin. Not only do Florida and LSU seem drawn to Kiffin, there appears to be at least some mutual interest on Kiffin’s side. According to reports from On3, Kiffin’s family members were recently seen in both Gainesville and Baton Rouge, the towns where Florida and LSU are located.

For the time being, Kiffin remains the coach at Ole Miss as they enter a bye week before finishing off their regular season against Mississippi State. 

“We’re having a blast,” Kiffin said about Ole Miss on “The Pat McAfee Show” earlier in the week. “I love it here.”