Is This Lane Kiffin’s Year to Pivot?

Originally posted on Mike Farrell Sports | By Jay Berry | Last updated Nov 6, 2025 9:43 PM ET

The fall means football season, and like clockwork, the college football world dusts off an annual tradition: Lane Kiffin rumor season. As marquee jobs open up, social media starts humming, flight trackers get fired up, and fans across the SEC brace for impact. But after the SEC Network’s recent segment praising Kiffin’s fit at Ole Miss in today’s era of college football—and with Kiffin himself sharing a daily quote from the book “The Pivot Year”—the question writes itself: Is this the year Lane Kiffin pivots? Or does it prove he’s exactly where he’s meant to be?

Perfect Fit

The SEC Network crew hit on something that’s been building for a while: Ole Miss isn’t just a stop on Kiffin’s coaching journey anymore. It might be the destination. In a sport now driven by NIL, transfer portal acrobatics, offensive firepower and strong program freedom, Kiffin and Ole Miss fit like a glove. This isn’t the same Kiffin who once treated jobs like stepping stones. His Rebels have an identity, a culture and a national presence that reflects him.

And if you take Kiffin at his own word, chasing the next paycheck isn’t what moves him.

“I have never made a decision based on money, nor will I. I’ve seen too many examples of money not bringing happiness,” KIffin said on the Pat McAfee Show. I don’t care about it.”

So if he ever were to consider a pivot, it wouldn’t be for a few million more dollars or a louder stadium. And it especially wouldn’t be right now.

Championship Dreams

With the Rebels ranked No. 6 in the first College Football Playoff rankings and sitting at 8–1 (5-1 SEC), Ole Miss is staring at a potential program-defining run. No coach with playoff momentum risks derailing their locker room with off-field drama. If any conversations were to happen, they’d come after the season, late winter at the earliest.

Sure, jobs like Florida and LSU bring brand power and temptation. On paper, if Kiffin ever moved, this would be the cycle to do it.

But that’s the national view. The local reality? Kiffin has built something at Ole Miss, something that is tough to leave. Freedom, alignment, player-driven culture and a roster molded to his vision. Leaving now would feel like walking out before the story hits its best chapter.

Could Kiffin pivot? Maybe. Does it feel like he will? Not this year.

There’s unfinished business in Oxford, and this might be the season that rumors turn into silence. Afterall, there is too much at stake to make an announcement with the Rebels in the SEC mix and playoff race.

This article first appeared on Mike Farrell Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: