re: 2025 Coaching Search thread

Dang. MS saw what LA did and said hold my beer

Funny he mentioned “the love shown by fans” when Kiffin has called them out the entire time he’s been at Ole Miss.

It's getting like LSU there now.

Sigh, well - here comes an essay. But I've been stewing on this since watching the game in person Saturday.

It's quite a bit different than what happened at LSU. First, the SoS isn't firing anyone or telling the school what to do. He's expressing a sentiment widely felt around Oxford as well that after the Kiffin PR tour earlier this season, he seems kind of full of shite.

That's a lot different than the governor wading in about someone needing to be looked into and then basically taking over the search, regardless of how he wanted to put it. A LOT different.

Look, I can promise you that I can't stand MS politicians even more than most of you here for obvious reasons, but that guy is also an alumni and responding as one to other alumni. I get why he is frustrated. I am a bit too both ways. I'd love to have this settled since I have an interest in both teams, at least as long as live in Oxford.

I know that face-painter over at Locked On Ole Miss loves making some tortured Batman reference about how Ole Miss is used to living in darkness or whatever (it's cringe as frick), but that's not accurate. People are pretty damn sick of going through this and having to wait until the end of the season for him to make up his mind, which in turn really hurts recruiting and conducting a search at Ole Miss if he leaves.

Do they want him to stay despite it? Absolutely. Would they prefer he make up his damn mind and go if he's going. Big Yeah. I think the perspective is that Freeze, despite his numerous flaws (can't stand him either) proved you can win here, Matt Luke sucked, and then Lane has proven you can consistently win 10+ and get to the playoffs. They're looking at a trend line that goes up with a good coach, and they know the longer Lane vacillates, the better the chance is they settle with what's left and won't have one any more.

Are they wrong to assume that? Maybe; I don't know. I can tell you that they have done much better with NIL, foundations, and revenue sharing than most schools have -including UF- and have a lot more money than people think down here. Does UF overall have more money? Absolutely of course they do, and do to multiple reasons. But Ole Miss isn't broke, has an excellent operation and facilities, and has an administration completely behind having a championship team.

Hence the post he was responding to.

As far UF - I have watched more Ole Miss football in the last decade than probably anyone else on this forum without "rebel" in their handle (ironic because I hated Ole Miss when I was a kid). The flip side of this is that Lane and Sexton are edging the shite out of UF and probably going to milk an enormous paycheck with some eye-watering guarantees because Stricklin needs a win and the fanbase is completely enthralled with Lane Kiffin.

And he may win it all at UF.

Or he may be our Mario Cristobal.

That will keep y'all happy until year three when he keeps seeming to drop a head scratcher or two every year that blows the season. Let me tell you, some of those games Ole Miss has lost over the years did come down to the Joes, but a lot of them also came down to X and Os. Lane does some dumb shite pretty regularly, like that Ahab-like quest for 7 points the first time Ole Miss turned it over on downs on a 4th and Goal at the 1. It wasn't just not taking the easy points, it was shite like going away from Lacy after he got you down the field and, with one of the plays, doing some ridiculous razzle dazzle that failed. That's not completely out of the ordinary for Kiffin.

Kiffin seems to be a name in every college or NFL search that pops up, but the guy is still every bit as reckless as he was when he got blown out by Alabama his first season here. But everyone is so fixated on winning Lane that that the coaching bit seems to just not matter. Now it's more about one fanbase flexing on another.

I suspect we'll hear something before the Egg Bowl this time. I suspect in the next few days, the AD at Ole Miss is going to offer Kiffin as much money as anyone else is and tell him to make up his mind if he wants to coach this team in the playoffs. Stay or go, but choose so Ole Miss can do what it needs to do.

Because - and I actually respect Ole Miss for this - they are tired of essentially simping for someone who gets off on being the center of attention. They think the easiest way to maintain what Lane built is for Lane to continue to manage it, but they have enough self-respect to feel he isn't the only one who can and that they therefore have no say so in any of this. I think they are about of just breathing and letting it happen. And good for them.

Personally, my opinion of Lane has changed a lot the last six weeks. I don't think he's any more of a lock to win it all than some other folks out there, and my god, he fricking loves drama and being the center of attention. Yeah, Spurrier always was too, but Spurrier wasn't doing that for him. He was doing that for his team, to get in the other team's head before the game even started every week. Lane does this shite for Lane.

He'll be the coach at UF or Ole Miss next year I imagine, and I hope he is very successful at whichever it is. But I don't think he's either school's only path to be a regular playoff contender by any stretch. I do think he's a still a petulant little shite in a whole lot of ways, but good on him for learning to keep his dick in his pants at least.

It has to be Lane or Alex..anyone else and Scott will hear insane noise.

A lot of LSU fans are convinced Lane has agreed to become their coach and it will be signed after the Miss State game. Agent games?

It would look bad on us if that somehow happened. It would mean their big boosters promised more NIL funding than us. Not sure I believe it though. That agent always does leaks like this.

Edit: It does look really bad.

LSU having their plane picking his family up looks real bad. If this was UF on a playoff run I would definitely not let him coach the playoff and maybe not even the Miss State game. As far as us I am not sure what it means as far as our chances. Maybe it's 50/50 still but he must be leaving Ole Miss.

Have you heard LSU is more likely than the Gators? What is the latest rumors out there?

I think I heard Ole Miss is telling him they want an answer by this weekend. If true we will know pretty soon.