University of Mississippi Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Keith Carter doesn't believe Lane Kiffin would have it anywhere better than the Ole Miss Rebels, sending a warning to all interested suitors that they'd be bringing the 50-year-old head coach away from his destiny in Oxford.
The Florida Gators are chief among Kiffin's primary poach threats, while the LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers, and Arkansas Razorbacks all figure to want the successful SEC head coach, who's now dug in at fertile recruiting grounds across the south.
Carter said he wanted Kiffin for a "long time," not committing to a timeframe himself because any coach is expendable once the winning stops.
“Our hope is to finish this season really strong and hold on to him for a long time here,” Carter told Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger. “He can build a legacy here that he might not have the opportunity to do at other places.”
The legacy part is true. Kiffin is already dug in at Ole Miss since the COVID-19-stricken season. Staying any longer would make him the longest-tenured Rebels head coach since Billy Brewer. Kiffin has Ole Miss playing far more important games than Brewer ever did, though.
Kiffin could be unique by foregoing money for family and loyalty in an era that's all about historic payouts and buyouts. But taking the right job would give Kiffin a dynastic potential that doesn't exist in the Sip.
How much stamina do the Rebs have to keep the NIL fundraising going? It's been difficult getting to the spot they're at, and they're still having to go against more talented teams, on paper at least, several times a season. As of now, there's still no College Football Playoff appearance either.
That'll be put to the test this hiring cycle. Wherever Kiffin goes, super agent Jimmy Sexton will have a Curt Cignetti-esque guaranteed payday for him. The potential for that to backfire on Ole Miss outweighs any of the potential of the schools interested. That's not a state with a taxpayer base in any position to pick up the tab on a future buyout. It'd be the Jeff Landry-Brian Kelly situation, but worse, if things ever flew off the rails in north central Mississippi.
Maybe Carter was right about the unmistakable Kiffin legacy in the Magnolia State. Just not in the way anyone would have wanted.