The last few weeks of Ole Miss football have been among the best in terms of on-field success, but among the most exhausting due to Coach Lane Kiffin’s lack of commitment. Rumors started to swirl that Coach Kiffin was interested in coaching at Florida, LSU, or even a return to the NFL. With the rumors came questions from the media, but Lane Kiffin has never given a direct answer. As the days leading up to the Egg Bowl came closer, the realization that Coach Kiffin would either be staying at Ole Miss or heading south to take the LSU job, but still no commitment from Coach Kiffin, took away from the accolades of the best season in school history, while contuaining to not give a direct answer to the fan base or the team. Now that Ole Miss is facing uncertainty, the reminder that it will be just fine without Coach Kiffin has never been more important than it is right now. 

As far as where the Coach Kiffin situation is this morning, it’s a bit of a cluster. It’s expected that Coach Kiffin is taking the LSU job. He wants to coach in the College Football Playoff, but he’s taking the head coaching job at the second-largest rival of Ole Miss and is threatening to take the entire offensive staff and players with him, leaving Ole Miss without enough players and possibly coaches for the College Football Playoff. Basically, Coach Kiffin is taking a can of gasoline and a box of matches and burning the bridge while he stands on it. Coach Kiffin has shown his true colors with all of this, and he’s now the problem for LSU. Ole Miss will still be here with or without him leading the Rebels. Ole Miss doesn’t need a coach who will gaslight an entire fan base while trolling them on social media for the entire world to see. Ole Miss is better than that. Remember, this isn’t the first time Coach Kiffin has done this; given that he’s taken it to the extreme this go-around, he did it to Tennessee. He left in the middle of the night without warning, at least this time, this whole spectacle has been highlighted by the erratic behavior and cryptic tweets. 

As far as Ole Miss goes, Ole Miss will be here no matter who the coach is. Sure, the winning is fun and deserved for a large part of the fan base, but Ole Miss will always be Ole Miss. You see, what Coach Kiffin fails to realize is that the program itself is bigger than any one person. Ole Miss football represents half the state of Mississippi. You see, the state of Mississippi is a special place; it’s not for everyone, but if you’re a person like Coach Kiffin and want to hold the University hostage when you’re leaving to take a job at a rival, then Ole Miss isn’t for you. Ole Miss is a lot of things to a lot of people, but the athletics department has withstood trials and tribulations, and yet, Ole Miss has remained. Ole Miss will always be Ole Miss, and under the right football coach, Ole Miss will not only have success, but it’ll feel like the old Ole Miss that has been there through the test of time. 

You also mix that with one of the best collectives in the country, again, Ole Miss will be okay. They’ll take this season’s success and run with it, using a steady hand of maybe a Pete Golding or Joe Judge, either in the interim or as a full-time role, and the Rebels will keep on keeping on. It’ll just be a different mindset. 

For the program’s future, trusting Athletics Director Keith Carter and Chancellor Boyce is of the utmost importance. We’ve seen over the last several years the leadership of Keith Carter and the entire Ole Miss administration, and how they have the University’s best interest at heart. Keith Carter himself is an Ole Miss Rebel; he delivered the school some of the best coaching hires in school history, with Coach Beard for basketball and Coach Yo for the girls. He also had faith in Coach Mike Bianco, and it led to a baseball National Championship trophy coming home to Oxford. Keith Carter and the Ole Miss admins will do their part in doing what’s best for Ole Miss. Trust the process; there’ll be some more ugly parts of this, but in the end, Keith Carter and his staff will do what’s best for Ole Miss while trying to bring another National Championship trophy home to Oxford. 

Remember, during this entire process, that Ole Miss will always be Ole Miss, no matter who the coach is. 

Photo credits- Ole Miss football on X