OXFORD – As if the week of the Egg Bowl needed any additional drama, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has given the historic rivalry an extra layer of intrigue in 2025.
The No. 6 Rebels (10-1, 6-1 SEC) are a victory away from locking up the program’s first 11-win regular season and, more importantly, from essentially securing the school’s first berth in the College Football Playoff – a year after coming up agonizingly short with one of the best rosters in program history. Standing in the way of history is none other than archrival Mississippi State (5-6, 1-6 SEC), a win away from becoming bowl eligible for the first time under head coach Jeff Lebby.
But as cowbells ring down loudly through a crisp autumn morning at Davis Wade Stadium on Black Friday, the biggest question in the air won’t have anything to do with what happens on the field. It will instead revolve around the news expected on the following day: where will Kiffin be in 2026 and beyond?
Amid rumors of his courtship by both Florida and LSU for their respective head coaching vacancies, Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter released a statement on social media last week saying that he, Kiffin and Ole Miss chancellor Glenn Boyce met regarding the sixth-year head coach’s future and that “an announcement on Coach Kiffin’s future is expected the Saturday following the game.” Kiffin’s family was reportedly in both Baton Rouge and Gainesville last week and, according to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports, LSU is readying an “incentive-laden deal worth at least $90 million.”
The Egg Bowl kicks off Friday at 11 a.m. The game will be broadcast on ABC. Ole Miss has won the last two in the rivalry and leads the all-time series 66-47-6.
Prior to taking questions at his weekly press conference Monday, Kiffin said he would “just answer questions on this game or the season and our players.” He declined to comment on the nature of last week’s meeting at his press conference Monday as well.
“Like I said at the beginning – very fair question – but we’re not answering anything that doesn’t have to do with the game and the team and the season,” Kiffin said. “But, fair question.”
Kiffin is 54-19 as the Rebels’ head coach and has won at least 10 games in each of the last three seasons, a first for the program. He has four of Ole Miss’ 11 all-time double-digit win seasons.
Kiffin was asked about his future following the Rebels’ win against Florida and on last week’s SEC teleconference but declined to comment on both occasions. He did the same when asked Monday but noted it was “very important” for him to coach the Rebels during a playoff run when asked. He was also asked if his past decisions and experiences would inform an impending decision.
“Over the years of the change, changes that I’ve made, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on things that have happened. And I really feel like in age, I figured out they all happen exactly how they were supposed to happen, when they were supposed to happen. I just didn’t think it at the time,” Kiffin said. “I thought they were disasters, and they’re all just part of my story.”
Senior quarterback Trinidad Chambliss posted a message to fans on social media Monday regarding the team’s current focus amid the noise surrounding Kiffin and the program.
“To our fans, this team is completely locked in, living in the moment, and staying true to our 1-0 mindset for the Egg Bowl and future games,” Chambliss wrote. “We are unbothered by anything about next year and fully trusting Coach Kiffin’s leadership to keep us moving toward our goals!”
Chambliss was asked Monday why he felt it necessary to post the statement.
“Just to remind our fanbase that we’re focused on Mississippi State. We’re not worried about the outside noise or anything going on outside of the complex or within the team,” Chambliss said. “ … We just want to win games, really just be 1-0, for every game that we’ve played, starting with the Egg Bowl.”
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