Lane Kiffin may have learned a lesson from ditching Tennessee all those years ago

Lane Kiffin once hastily left Tennessee after one season as head coach as fans protested and burned mattresses as he walked out the door for (supposedly) greener pastures at USC.

Kiffin, now in his third season at Ole Miss, could find himself in another situation with an angry fanbase as there are reports that Auburn would love for him to be its next coach. Heck, there was even a report that it was a done deal.

It seems that the messy divorce with Tennessee way back in January of 2010 may have rubbed off on the polarizing head coach, though. Rather than barricade himself in an office and take a middle-of-the-night flight over to Auburn, Kiffin has publically disputed the report that he'll be the Tigers' next coach. He's even tried to meme the unfortunate reporter's career to death. 

Kiffin has also reportedly, behind the scenes, talked to his Ole Miss team to guarantee them that he's not spinning his wheels trying to leave for Auburn, but rather, focusing on the Rebels' next opponent.

"Amid speculation he's leaving for the Auburn head-coaching job, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin met with his players Tuesday and assured them that he hasn't accepted a job at any other school," ESPN wrote, citing unnamed sources.

"He told the players his focus was on Mississippi State and nothing else and that any reports out there about his accepting another offer were totally false," sources told ESPN.

Kiffin could still leave for Auburn. In fact, it would be the most Lane Kiffin-esque thing to do, to so publically deny the rumors and then days later confirm them with another private flight.

The Kiffin we're hearing about right now is clearly a different person, though. He's attacking these rumors head-on and apparently being very open in his communication with his current team.

Again, he could still skip town and leave Oxford in the dust as more mattresses burn, but for now, kudos to the 47-year-old head coach. He's saying and doing all the right things.