Lane Kiffin goes after reporter for story that he's leaving Ole Miss for Auburn
Lane Kiffin had a busy schedule this week, preparing for the Egg Bowl all while facing reports that he had already planned to leave Ole Miss and accept the head coaching position at Auburn.
The first step of that plan didn't work: Ole Miss lost to Mississippi State at home, dropping its fourth game out of the last five, and finishing 8-4 on the season.
Then after the game, Kiffin had a chance to address that second thing.
Asked about the rumors if his leaving for Auburn had any effect on preparing his team for the Egg Bowl, Kiffin offered a pointed answer while directly naming Jon Sokoloff, the WCBI reporter who made the claim.
“I think when it was falsely reported by Jon, who’s now famous, congratulations,” Kiffin said as he gestured directly towards Sokoloff in the middle of the press conference.
“You can just write whatever you want. I would do it too I think. Because you’re never held accountable, you get to become famous, and, maybe, you’ll be right. So Jon did it. Then I had to have a team meeting to say his article was wrong…(I’d) love to know these unnamed sources from Jon. But, yes, I had to deal and had to have a team meeting because of that.”
Related: Ole Miss fans enraged by controversial fumble call in Egg Bowl
Sokoloff's report came out on Monday night and gained immediate national attention, though no other outlets reported that Kiffin was planning to move.
The coach, in turn, spent the rest of the week restating his position publicly and to the Ole Miss players.
And he sent out a few sarcastic tweets, too, also aimed at Sokoloff.
Kiffin also had no problem confronting the reporter in the middle of his news conference following the loss in the Egg Bowl.
Reporters won't have many more opportunities to discuss the job speculation in person with Kiffin as the team prepares for the postseason.
For his part, Kiffin has stated that he expects he will return to Ole Miss next season, something the coach said he has also told his players in private.
Asked after Thursday's loss about signing a contract extension at Ole Miss, Kiffin said that he had signed several with the school and has been more focused on the Egg Bowl.
In December 2021, Kiffin received an enhanced contract with Ole Miss that increased his salary to $7.25 million this season.
More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams
Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Facebook