It’s Egg Bowl eve, but all eyes remain on Lane Kiffin and his future, even as the tea leaves all seem to point in the same direction.
A source affiliated with Auburn told me an executive committee has approved the contract John Cohen will present to Kiffin and his representation, presumably after tomorrow night’s Egg Bowl, when he makes an official offer to the Ole Miss coach to take over at Alabama. A national media source familiar with a good bit of the machinations said he’s consistently hearing Auburn is hoping to wait until Saturday evening/Sunday to make that move as the current Tigers’ coaching staff has asked the administration to please avoid distractions prior to Saturday’s Iron Bowl game in Tuscaloosa (again, good luck with that).
I have no idea, really, about the specifics of the offer from Auburn, other than I’m told it’s very lucrative.
“It comes down to money,” the Auburn source said. “The (Mississippi) state law will be the reason he leaves publicly but he wants to beat (Nick) Saban and doesn’t think he can do it at Ole Miss, right or wrong.”
In Oxford, meanwhile, Kiffin very briefly met with his team Tuesday to address a report by WCBI-TV’s Jon Sokoloff. ESPN’s Chris Low, citing sources, said Kiffin “felt as if he owed it to his players and their parents to formally address the situation after a report surfaced Monday by WCBI-TV in Columbus, Mississippi, that Kiffin planned to step down Friday and head to Auburn. WCBI-TV also reported that Auburn had yet to officially offer the job to anyone.”
Sokoloff, it should be noted, has not backed off his Monday evening report.
Per a source inside the program, Kiffin told the players, “I have not spoken to any other school or interviewed for another job.”
Several people, including me, reported Tuesday that Kiffin interviewed for the Auburn job earlier this month. Informed of those media reports, including mine, the source inside the program said, “The players know it. He can’t return to Ole Miss.”
Another source inside the program said most of the players “don’t really care” about the Kiffin saga and “want to win,” noting the game against Mississippi State is really important to several guys on staff and the players.
Several sources inside the program said there’s a sense Kiffin is on his way out the door.
“We just want to win the games ahead of us,” one said. “We are over it.”
Ole Miss, per Mississippi Super Talk’s Richard Cross, offered Kiffin a new deal last week, one that would pay him $9 million per year. Kiffin has yet to address that offer and he very clearly hasn’t agreed to it or signed it. He’ll very likely be asked about his future following Thursday night’s game in Oxford. After that, I suspect, the waiting game will ensue, though the chances of an agreement — whether it be with Ole Miss, or far more likely, Auburn — not leaking to media sources are infinitesimally low.
The educated guess here is Ole Miss will begin to discuss and evaluate candidates in the coming days. Some names of interest likely include former Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule, Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell, Jackson State coach Deion Sanders and Florida State coach Mike Norvell, among others. A coaching industry source said Maryland coach Mike Locksley, a former Saban assistant who is 21-53 as the head coach at New Mexico and Maryland, would have interest. Locksley, 53, makes $4.1 million per year at Maryland. (Note: I can’t see Ole Miss hiring Locksley and would find the choice underwhelming, but I’m passing along what I was told.)
I keep getting asked for odds on things happening. I don't know. All signs seem to point in one direction. The only way I see Kiffin returning as Ole Miss' coach at this point is if Auburn decides to go in another direction. There are still some Hugh Freeze rumors on the Plains and even a stray James Franklin rumor or two (one is that Penn State really wants to hire Ruhle and is pushing Franklin to land somewhere else and Auburn has interest -- I simply don't buy it but it's out there a little), but really all signs point toward the Tigers targeting Kiffin. An Auburn source who has consistently told me Kiffin is Choice No. 1 at Auburn said late Tuesday "nothing has changed" in that regard.
A source affiliated with Auburn told me an executive committee has approved the contract John Cohen will present to Kiffin and his representation, presumably after tomorrow night’s Egg Bowl, when he makes an official offer to the Ole Miss coach to take over at Alabama. A national media source familiar with a good bit of the machinations said he’s consistently hearing Auburn is hoping to wait until Saturday evening/Sunday to make that move as the current Tigers’ coaching staff has asked the administration to please avoid distractions prior to Saturday’s Iron Bowl game in Tuscaloosa (again, good luck with that).
I have no idea, really, about the specifics of the offer from Auburn, other than I’m told it’s very lucrative.
“It comes down to money,” the Auburn source said. “The (Mississippi) state law will be the reason he leaves publicly but he wants to beat (Nick) Saban and doesn’t think he can do it at Ole Miss, right or wrong.”
In Oxford, meanwhile, Kiffin very briefly met with his team Tuesday to address a report by WCBI-TV’s Jon Sokoloff. ESPN’s Chris Low, citing sources, said Kiffin “felt as if he owed it to his players and their parents to formally address the situation after a report surfaced Monday by WCBI-TV in Columbus, Mississippi, that Kiffin planned to step down Friday and head to Auburn. WCBI-TV also reported that Auburn had yet to officially offer the job to anyone.”
Sokoloff, it should be noted, has not backed off his Monday evening report.
Per a source inside the program, Kiffin told the players, “I have not spoken to any other school or interviewed for another job.”
Several people, including me, reported Tuesday that Kiffin interviewed for the Auburn job earlier this month. Informed of those media reports, including mine, the source inside the program said, “The players know it. He can’t return to Ole Miss.”
Another source inside the program said most of the players “don’t really care” about the Kiffin saga and “want to win,” noting the game against Mississippi State is really important to several guys on staff and the players.
Several sources inside the program said there’s a sense Kiffin is on his way out the door.
“We just want to win the games ahead of us,” one said. “We are over it.”
Ole Miss, per Mississippi Super Talk’s Richard Cross, offered Kiffin a new deal last week, one that would pay him $9 million per year. Kiffin has yet to address that offer and he very clearly hasn’t agreed to it or signed it. He’ll very likely be asked about his future following Thursday night’s game in Oxford. After that, I suspect, the waiting game will ensue, though the chances of an agreement — whether it be with Ole Miss, or far more likely, Auburn — not leaking to media sources are infinitesimally low.
The educated guess here is Ole Miss will begin to discuss and evaluate candidates in the coming days. Some names of interest likely include former Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule, Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell, Jackson State coach Deion Sanders and Florida State coach Mike Norvell, among others. A coaching industry source said Maryland coach Mike Locksley, a former Saban assistant who is 21-53 as the head coach at New Mexico and Maryland, would have interest. Locksley, 53, makes $4.1 million per year at Maryland. (Note: I can’t see Ole Miss hiring Locksley and would find the choice underwhelming, but I’m passing along what I was told.)
I keep getting asked for odds on things happening. I don't know. All signs seem to point in one direction. The only way I see Kiffin returning as Ole Miss' coach at this point is if Auburn decides to go in another direction. There are still some Hugh Freeze rumors on the Plains and even a stray James Franklin rumor or two (one is that Penn State really wants to hire Ruhle and is pushing Franklin to land somewhere else and Auburn has interest -- I simply don't buy it but it's out there a little), but really all signs point toward the Tigers targeting Kiffin. An Auburn source who has consistently told me Kiffin is Choice No. 1 at Auburn said late Tuesday "nothing has changed" in that regard.
