Auburn football: Lane Kiffin departure chatter rising ahead of AU matchup

Auburn football Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Auburn football Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Ahead of his Ole Miss Rebels’ Week 9 matchup with Auburn football under the lights at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday night, Lane Kiffin is inspiring interesting takes for some local radio hosts in Mississippi.

Apparently, some see ‘same old Lane’ rearing his head and ditching yet another program soon after the start of his tenure there.

Kiffin started with Ole Miss in 2020 after leaving Florida Atlantic after a stint from 2017-2019. He had one season stands with Tennessee and the Oakland Raiders (to be fair, he lasted a season and a month as an NFL coach).

If Mississippi radio host Bo Bounds is to be believed, the Bayou could be getting Kiffin next…and Ole Miss will be the next team to have been “Kiffin’d” (transcript via Saturday Down South):

"“I think if Lane’s offered the LSU job — and I have no idea if he will be — then I would think he would have to take it,” Bounds said during an appearance on “The Matt McClearin Show” on WJOX 94.5 FM on Wednesday. “I mean, they’re losing Matt Corral, 17 starters. At Bama and Clemson and Ohio State, Georgia, I guess, a few other programs, you can usually reload pretty quick and so on and so on, right? I mean, even Bama’s not dominant this year. So 17 starters, losing Corral — all he talks about is how special Corral is."

That would make last week’s 31-17 victory over outbound LSU coach Ed Orgeron an audition. Which makes this week’s matchup against Auburn football a potential nail in the coffin for the Kiffin ear in Oxford.

Bounds is correct about Ole Miss being a program that doesn’t reload, but instead has to frequently rebuild. LSU on the other hand, is a team that attracts elite defensive talent and Heisman quality offensive threats year after year.

The smoke hasn’t dissipated regarding Kiffin taking over the Tigers in Baton Rouge. Auburn could make this conversation much more interesting with a win on Saturday.