Lane Kiffin puts an abrupt end to Auburn rumors after Egg Bowl loss

Lane Kiffin announced he would be returning to Ole Miss after the Rebels lost in the Egg Bowl.

While there was some speculation about Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss to take over at SEC West rival Auburn, he made it abundantly clear after the Egg Bowl loss what his intentions were.

Kiffin said he intends to return to Ole Miss for a fourth season after the heartbreaking loss to arch-rival Mississippi State on Thanksgiving night. Although the Rebels have dropped their third straight game to finish the regular season at 8-4, Kiffin seems to have a great thing going in Oxford. The Rebels are consistently a top 25 program under him and continue to put up points.

Kiffin is now 23-12 at Ole Miss over the last three seasons, going 18-7 since the start of last year.

Lane Kiffin nixes those Auburn rumors to remain as the head coach at Ole Miss

Had Kiffin switched SEC West allegiances, he would not be the first head coach to do this. Senator Tommy Tuberville went from Ole Miss to Auburn in the late 1990s. He went on to have his greatest coaching success down on The Plains. However, the gap between Ole Miss and Auburn from a program perspective is nowhere near as vast at it had been over the previous few decades.

Although Auburn is a top-15 program in the country, this is not an easy job. Bryan Harsin had little chance at being successful in his not even two-year run at the helm. Auburn has all the resources to compete in a deep SEC and contend for national championships, but the job does come with a great deal of unrealistic expectations. Its two biggest rivals historically are Alabama and Georgia…

Ultimately, Kiffin may leave Ole Miss one day, but not right now. He has a good thing going for him in Oxford, but a bigger job, and one definitely better than Auburn, may open up. At that point, Kiffin will have to consider all of his options. For now, Kiffin needs to re-establish his recruiting footprint, as to not be so overly reliant on the transfer portal like he has had to be over the last few seasons.

Kiffin always keeps things interesting, as Ole Miss will remain a major player as long as he is there.

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