Forde Sources: Lane Kiffin Ready To Leave For Lsu, Cfp Run Hinders Decision

Here’s nan agelong and nan short of nan bizarre, borderline tawdry Lane Kiffin–Mississippi–LSU emotion triangle: The 2025 Rebels shot squad should beryllium nan first information for everyone.

Ole Miss is having its champion play since nan 1960s, astatine least, and has a chance to triumph a nationalist championship. It’s a fastener for nan College Football Playoff and will almost assuredly big a first-round playoff crippled that mightiness beryllium nan biggest sporting arena successful Mississippi authorities history. Whatever champion protects nan competitory integrity of nan existent squad should guideline each decision.

But the adults successful alleged activity positions are threatening to screw it each up. Sources laid retired nan pursuing sticky script to Sports Illustrated connected Saturday night, arsenic Decision Day became Indecision Day, dragging connected past midnight ET: 

Kiffin is fresh to bail connected Ole Miss for LSU. But he mightiness besides want to coach nan Rebels successful nan playoff earlier leaving. (Which, apparently, LSU is consenting to countenance.) The spurned Ole Miss management isn’t successful emotion pinch this thought and would for illustration to simply nonstop him connected his way, turning nan playoff tally complete to Kiffin’s remaining staff. 

But really overmuch of that unit would stay, and really overmuch would spell pinch him to LSU, and really soon? If Kiffin threatens to return everything but nan Who Hash pinch him to Baton Rouge, immediately, is that capable blackmail for nan schoolhouse to acquiesce and support him onboard for nan playoff?

It’s disgusting to deliberation that nan schoolhouse and Kiffin would usage this once-in-a-lifetime play arsenic leverage successful competing powerfulness plays, but invited to assemblage football. The much nan coaches and administrators talk astir putting nan “student-athletes” first, nan little you should judge them.

If I were calling nan shots successful this case, I would inquire nan squad leaders—captains aliases a activity council, whichever Ole Miss uses—what they judge gives them nan champion chance for a successful playoff. If that intends Kiffin staying aboard, Ole Miss needs to swallow its bruised pridefulness and fto him do it. This is not nan clip for an ego play. And fixed Kiffin’s hands-on domiciled arsenic nan play-caller and superior violative strategist, not having him would look to beryllium a nett negative.

But if nan players opportunity they’d for illustration an interim coach still connected nan staff, spell up pinch that plan. And if Kiffin does thing to complicate a scheme for an interim coach who nan players endorse, sprout him into nan sun. He is, aft all, nan personification who created this situation.

Would keeping Kiffin connected for a playoff tally beryllium messy and perchance problematic? Yes. He could walk those weeks moving connected players he’d for illustration to return pinch him to LSU, perchance fleecing nan Rebels’ roster. He mightiness beryllium only half-in connected nan job, arsenic he was arsenic nan violative coordinator astatine Alabama successful 2016 erstwhile he’d been named nan caput coach astatine Florida Atlantic. Nick Saban was truthful unimpressed pinch Kiffin’s activity successful nan CFP semifinal against Washington that he fired him earlier nan final, sending him connected his measurement early to Boca Raton, Fla.

But if he’s dialed successful connected a title pursuit, Ole Miss should fto him do it. Winning a nationalist title is simply a everlastingly thing, particularly astatine a schoolhouse that isn’t perennially successful nan mix. Ask Auburn fans if nan school’s one twelvemonth pinch Cam Newton was worthy nan downturn that followed. Ask Michigan if nan 2023 title pinch Jim Harbaugh was much important than an 8–5 ’24 and a 9–3 ’25.

If afloat going for it winds up costing nan Rebels successful ’26 and beyond, O.K. Worrying astir nan future—recruiting and nan portal—instead of doing everything imaginable to triumph present and now would beryllium misplaced priorities. And frankly, successful nan existent landscape, rosters tin beryllium replenished astatine warp speed.

Ole Miss moving backmost Kewan Lacy (5) celebrates pinch wide receiver Deuce Alexander (11) aft scoring a touchdown against Mississippi State. / Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Still, nan full business stinks. It springs from nan disastrous shot calendar, which puts nan awesome recruiting dates—portal and precocious school—in nan mediate of nan playoff schedule. That accelerates coaches’ decision-making timetable into nan second stages of nan regular season, forcing them to wantonness nan team-first accuracy they preach nan first 10 months of nan year.

One of nan biggest lies shot coaches ever told was that nan coming tin and should beryllium compromised for nan liking of a azygous early recruiting class.

The truth that Kiffin is nan coach successful nan mediate of this fiasco is fitting. He’s ever craved chaos, ever been erratic, ever had an oculus connected his adjacent job, ever been a symptom successful nan cervix for his bosses. Just because he does yoga and stopped drinking doesn’t make him mature.

But he is an undeniable talent, and colleges person ever been consenting to make compromises for talent. In nan lawsuit of Kiffin, some LSU and Ole Miss are reportedly consenting to connection monolithic money to a coach who has ne'er been to nan playoff and ne'er played successful nan SEC title game. 

For nan entirety of his career, it’s been a delicate equilibrium betwixt whether Kiffin’s talent is worthy nan trouble. All nan wins and beautiful shot plays astatine Ole Miss will beryllium forgotten if he walks retired connected a title run—but it besides would beryllium a shame if nan Rebels don’t put nan 2025 squad first and foremost successful deciding really to proceed.

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