Lane Kiffin Holds Keys To College Football Coaching Chaos, As LSU & Florida Linger | Trey Wallace

Hop aboard, the college football coaching carousel is fully operational with just three weeks until conference championship weekend, with Lane Kiffin essentially riding upfront, followed by James Franklin until Monday afternoon.

Even with Georgia and Texas playing on the field Saturday night in Athens, the topic of conversation among college football scribes was the ongoing cycle that could see Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for Florida or LSU. 

Now, Lane Kiffin has been given a timeline by Ole Miss officials in which they'd want a decision regarding whether he's going to sign the extension. They have essentially put a deadline on when they need to know what he plans on doing regarding the future, and they want to know by next weekend, which could obviously linger into Egg Bowl week. 

Sure, it's essentially an invisible line in the sand, but Ole Miss folks are having a hard time wrapping their heads around Kiffin coaching this team while their future hangs in the balance. 

Multiple sources tell OutKick that some folks in Oxford behind the scenes are doing their own due diligence on potential coaches, in case Kiffin does decide to leave Ole Miss. 

One Power Four athletic director speaking with OutKick on Monday had this to say about the situation:

"Well, two can play that game, right?"

Essentially, we are living in one of the craziest times in recent college football history, and we went through the inception of NIL. 

As for what happens next, three schools are waiting for a decision that could affect plenty of others in the sport, and we haven't started preparing our turkey for Thanksgiving. 

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How long are the Rebels willing to wait for a decision from their head coach?

This might be the biggest question to come out of Oxford since the Hugh Freeze days. This past weekend, we all watched Ole Miss defeat Florida in dramatic fashion, as Lane Kiffin walked towards the student section postgame and chucked a football into the stands. 

Was this the final time Kiffin would be in front of a home crowd in Oxford? That's a serious question that some within the Ole Miss athletic department are pondering as you read this, thanks to the college football calendar that will have the transfer portal opening on January 2nd. 

Lane has already spoken to Florida about the job in the past two weeks, according to multiple sources, with family members making a trip to Gainesville and Baton Rouge over the past two days. 

Sources tell OutKick that he's at least contemplating an upcoming offer from LSU. A little convincing from LSU brass, along with agent Jimmy Sexton, could have him thinking harder about Baton Rouge. 

Folks close to the situation tell OutKick that they are convinced that Kiffin is truly torn between options right now, so vetting every aspect of this is key to an overall answer. 

But, this whole situation could change, quickly. If Kiffin thinks LSU gives him a better chance at winning, then this whole ordeal is going to get even crazier. 

As Jimmy Sexton leads the charge, you really cannot take anything off the table with Kiffin.  

So yes, like we've reported before, Kiffin knows the landscape of Gainesville and Baton Rouge, vetting the situation multiple times in the past. This is why a decision about Florida will not come down to the obvious variables, because of his previous vetting. 

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Right now, as Lane Kiffin continues to deflect the attention being pointed his way from both Ole Miss and Florida fans, it's a valid question to ask how much longer this can go on. Would he be gently forced out the door before the college football playoff started if AD Keith Carter got a whiff that he was going to accept the Florida or LSU job? 

You cannot have a coach roaming the sidelines of one team, knowing he's leaving for another job once the final whistle blows in the 2025 season. This isn’t some offensive coordinator hanging around before taking over as the head coach at another school. 

And for the folks out there that are being naive by saying that maybe Florida hasn't officially offered him the job, please save yourself from overthinking this situation. This isn't the first time Kiffin has pondered about life in Gainesville. 

Also, sources tell OutKick that LSU is also putting on the pressure, prepared to join the frenzy with an offer. 

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Does anyone remember last season when Billy Napier was hanging on by a thread, with boosters wanting to make a move but Scott Stricklin standing firm that he wasn't going to fire him? Do you know who the boosters were gauging interest in behind the scenes to see if he'd take the job if it opened? 

Yea, that was Lane Kiffin, who was also gunning for the job when Billy Napier was initially hired by Florida. So, I don't think he needs to discuss the situation in Gainesville with prominent boosters to get a gauge on life in the swamp. 

Right now, and Lane Kiffin can act as if he doesn't want to discuss it during the season, both Florida, Ole Miss and potentially LSU are waiting for decisions regarding two different prices of imaginary paper. The one in Oxford is a new contract to make him one of the highest paid coaches in college football. 

The other one is the exact same thing, but as the Gators head coach. Could the next one be from a school located in Baton Rouge? Sure, more teams joining the chaos is great for business, unless you’re an Ole Miss fan. 

Inside The College Football Coaching Frenzy: Lane Kiffin And James Franklin Hold The Keys To Chaos (Photo by John Adams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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While his phone kept receiving calls from Blacksburg area codes, the former Penn State head coach has finally made a decision to become the next Virginia Tech head coach. 

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For the past few weeks, Virginia Tech and James Franklin had been discussing what life would look like in the ACC. Is he fully interested in taking the Hokies job? Sure he is. But that doesn't mean Franklin isn't waiting to see how a few dominoes fall across college football in the process. 

Whether it's Ole Miss, Auburn, Arkansas or even the potential for Florida State to open, Franklin has some leverage that agent Jimmy Sexton can use. 

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Two coaches, who have big decisions to make in the very near future. This has turned into a soap opera that could end in dramatic fashion, with one coach potentially not on the sidelines for his opening game of the playoff. 

Welcome to the chaos that is college football.