Analyst: Lane Kiffin to Auburn football rumors are ‘hilarious’
Apparently, not everyone is sold on the idea of Lane Kiffin to Auburn football. Mike Farrell, who recently claimed the prospect of Kiffin ditching Ole Miss was ‘iffy,’ believes the rumors of a Plains jump for the Rebels head coach are ‘hilarious.’
“Personally, I think this rumor is hilarious,” Farrell wrote in his latest piece addressing Week 12 rumors in college football. “Lane Kiffin built Ole Miss into an SEC West contending team in just a few years, and leaving now would make no sense. Unlike Ole Miss, Auburn is second fiddle when it comes to football in the state of Alabama, making recruiting harder than at Ole Miss, which is first fiddle in Mississippi.”
Farrell is in the camp of those thinking Kiffin is waiting for an eventual return to Tuscaloosa, where he was an offensive coordinator from 2014-2016, once Nick Saban finally retires as the Alabama Crimson Tide head coach. Saban recently signed a $93.6 million contract extension that runs through the 2030 season.
Plotting an eventual Alabama jump wouldn’t preclude Lane Kiffin from becoming Auburn football coach right now
Anyone that has followed his career knows Lane Kiffin will drop what he has built for something bigger, just as his most recent jump from Florida Atlanta — where he coached the Owls to their two best seasons in program history at the Division I level — to Ole Miss.
Ole Miss may have maxed out what they can do in an increasingly competitive SEC West back in 2021, with 2022 potentially serving as a big step back should the Rebels lose the upcoming Egg Bowl on November 24. A jump right now seems like the best face-saving move, especially if he jumps to Auburn football, where the expectations have been lowered due to two straight sub-seven win regular seasons. Obviously, Kiffin’s presence on the Plains would eventually be expected to yield better results than the late Gus Malzahn era, but he’d have full support to achieve that in Auburn.
Even if Kiffin’s end goal is the Alabama job, there are likely several seasons until that vacancy even opens. He’ll likely have competition for that role too, with Birmingham-born former Tide player and 2x national champion HC Dabo Swinney likely looking to replace Saban too.
He could take a career detour, or hopefully find his forever home, as the next head coach of Auburn football.