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Mark Schlabach
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin on Tuesday denied he has been given an ultimatum from the administration to make a decision about his future with the Rebels.
Kiffin, who has guided Ole Miss to a 10-1 record this season, is believed to be the top candidate for coaching vacancies at both Florida and LSU.
«Yeah, that’s absolutely not true,» Kiffin told «The Pat McAfee Show» on ESPN. «There has been no ultimatum, anything like that at all. And so I don’t know where that came from, like a lot of stuff that comes out there. Like I said, man, we’re having a blast. I love it here.»
Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($13.3 million), Texas’ Steve Sarkisian ($10.8 million), Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer ($10.3 million) and former LSU coach Brian Kelly ($10.2 million).
The Tigers fired Kelly on Oct. 26 after his teams compiled a 34-14 record in three-plus seasons.
The Gators fired Billy Napier on Oct. 19 after his teams went 22-23 in four seasons.
The Rebels, who are No. 7 in the CFP rankings heading into Tuesday night’s update reveal, close the regular season against Mississippi State in the Nov. 28 Egg Bowl (12 p.m. ET, ABC) in Starkville.
Kiffin, 50, has guided the Rebels to a 54-19 record during his six seasons. Ole Miss won at least 10 games for the fourth time in the past five seasons, the most successful stretch in the program’s history.
If the Rebels defeat Mississippi State on Black Friday, they would be in position to host a first-round CFP contest in Oxford on Dec. 19 or 20.
«I love what we’re doing here,» Kiffin said after last week’s 34-24 win against Florida at Vaught Hemingway Stadium. «Today was awesome. To even talk about it right now would be so disrespectful to our players and how well they played today. We’ve got a lot of things going here. Doing really well, and I love it here.»
