Kirk Herbstreit explains what he would do in Lane Kiffin's shoes amid job speculation

College football expert Kirk Herbstreit analyzes Lane Kiffin's position at Ole Miss against the jobs of Florida and LSU, tells us what he would do amid all the speculation

Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football game analyst Kirk Herbstreit / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

On Monday, college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit joined Ryen Russillo's podcast to chat about all things CFB as the regular season winds down and coaching rumors are heating up. Specifically, there's a man named Lane Kiffin who's become the hottest name in the country as all these jobs open up.

As the conversation inevitably reached Ole Miss and head coach Lane Kiffin, who is likely to field calls from every single top job that's currently open in this cycle, the question remains: What will he do? He could ditch the SEC for Penn State or stay and elevate to Florida or LSU. However, Kiffin has also been successful and seemingly pretty happy in Oxford, too.

When Herbstreit leans back and ponders what he would do in Kiffin's shoes, he's just not sure that Kiffin should actually want to leave in this new era.

“I might stay," Herbstreit said. "I really might. In the world we’re in now." Ole Miss may be historically out of the top tier of SEC jobs, but nowadays, if the resources are in place, as Indiana is showing, you can win at a national title level anywhere.

"Ole Miss has always been like a second-tier right?" Herbstreit added. "Florida, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, whatever it is. But man, now, what’s your budget look like? What can you afford? It’s no longer, ’We win here. We send guys to the NFL. We got tradition.' No one cares. It’s how much are you paying? It’s crazy."

Herbstreit explains why Lane Kiffin should stay

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

With the major recruiting and resource advantages of those elite SEC jobs coming back to water compared to other teams like Ole Miss, there's now less motive to upgrade programs as a coach. Because why put yourself under intense scrutiny at a top job when you can win just as big with less expectation.

"So at Ole Miss, (you're) without the pressure of Brian Kelly, Hugh Freeze or Kalen DeBoer — win or else you’re fired," Herbstreit commented. "Ole Miss, they’re kinda like, ‘We have fun at The Grove.’ It’s not the same. Now, if he gets to a Playoff and makes a run, maybe it will become that."

For now, though, Lane Kiffin has a pretty sweet setup at Ole Miss, and we know a new contract would pay him whatever he wants. He's putting together great rosters and finding success the Rebels haven't seen this century. So perhaps Kirk Herbstreit is right, there's just less motivation to move on now.

"What’s wrong with coaching at Indiana in 2025?" he asks. "What’s wrong with coaching at Ole Miss? If you’ve got resources to put a staff together, why not coach there and not deal with not sleeping at night because you’re not going to win 11 games? Maybe you can accomplish the same stuff at less of a stressful situation."

Of course, Herbstreit knows that Kiffin could still try his hand at one of this prestigious open jobs, but he can't shake the fact that, in 2025, there's just less reason to take an LSU or Florida job.

"I’m not saying he won’t go to Baton Rouge or Gainesville," he added. "I’m just asking: Why do you have to go?"

Well, you don't! Have a great day folks :)

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