Lane Kiffin And Ole Miss AD Continue This Circus Past Egg Bowl, With Future Still Uncertain At LSU Or Florida

A meeting between Ole Miss AD Keith Carter and Lane Kiffin took place on Friday afternoon in Oxford with the university hoping to gain some type of clarity regarding the future of its head coach. Now, all sides will have to continue waiting. 

Over the past few weeks, Kiffin has been entertaining offers from both LSU and Florida, while also having an extension on his desk from the Rebels athletic department. To say that this has turned into a circus would actually be disparaging to the clowns who work under the big tent. 

This has bled over into the football building in Oxford, which Kiffin has tried to downplay over the last two weeks. 

And now, we will go through the same cycle again for at least another 24 hours, as Lane Kiffin informed Keith Carter that he did not have a decision. 

Now, they are waiting until next week, as AD Keith Carter announced on Friday. 

"Coach Kiffin and I have had many pointed and positive conversations regarding his future at Ole Miss, including meeting today with Chancellor Boyce," Keith Carter said. "While we discuss next steps, we know we cannot lose sight of what is most important — our sixth-ranked team that is poised to finish the regular season in historic fashion. Despite the outside noise, Coach Kiffin is focused on preparing our team for the Egg Bowl, and together, we want to ensure that our players and coaches can concentrate fully on next Friday's game. This team is on the cusp of an unprecedented season, and it's imperative they feel the support of the Ole Miss family in the week ahead. 

"An announcement on Coach Kiffin's future is expected the Saturday following the game."

This week alone, Kiffin sent family members to Gainesville and Baton Rouge to look at potential houses, along with schools for his son, along with other family members that could end up making a move. 

All the while, Ole Miss has been patiently waiting for a decision from its head coach about whether he would be staying or going. 

On Thursday, representatives of Lane Kiffin reportedly met with Florida decision makers one last time about the opening in Gainesville, according to Graham Hall of 247Sports. 

Future Of Lane Kiffin Is Still Up In The Air

All of this comes as Jimmy Sexton has also discussed the opening with LSU officials multiple times this week, as Ole Miss continued to wait. The best way to describe this entire ordeal is Lane Kiffin participating in an open marriage with the Rebels. 

There were only a few solutions to this whole charade. One would've been Lane Kiffin being told that Ole Miss could no longer put up with the distractions of having its head coach continue flirting with other schools while trying to prepare for the Egg Bowl, followed by the College Football Playoff. 

The second option would be for Kiffin to ask for more time to think about a potential move, which would have bled over into next week, as the players prepare for a monumental game against Mississippi State, all the while still having to deal with questions regarding the head coach. This could have led to Kiffin making an announcement in the hours following the Egg Bowl, which is essentially what Dan Mullen did in 2017, when he took the Florida job. 

As for the third option, it would've been Lane Kiffin signing the extension with Ole Miss and ending this whole ordeal, with the team focusing on the task at hand, which is contending for a national championship. 

Ole Miss In A Massive Pinch, Not Having The Time To Wait

For AD Keith Carter, he is in a no-win situation. The onslaught of awkward PR split over into this past week, with an Oscar-worthy performance on the Pat McAfee show, followed by a contentious SEC teleconference that had Lane Kiffin acting as if nothing was going on behind the scenes, trying to put the attention on next week's game in Starkville. 

If Carter allowed Kiffin a few more days to think about it, and potentially coach in the Egg Bowl, a loss to Jeff Lebby's team could have a monumental impact. Even though the Rebels have a better roster, it's not easy to say that the Rebels would enter that game without distraction and lay an egg, no pun intended. 

Essentially, all of this needed to be figured out, immediately. This was obviously taking a toll on the football program, along with athletic department officials. 

Now, we wait even further, as Florida and LSU continue waiting.