Lane Kiffin Could Leave Ole Miss for Alabama Amid Kalen D...

By Jordan SiglerShareNewsweek is a Trust Project member

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has reportedly given his notice to Rebels athletic director Keith Carter about his intentions to talk to other college football programs this year.

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Kiffin and Carter are expected to have a meeting on Friday. According to multiple reports, the Rebels want to have an answer from Kiffin about his plans for 2026 before Ole Miss plays Mississippi State in the "Egg Bowl" on November 28.

Amid an expected College Football Playoff run for Ole Miss, Kiffin has been linked to SEC programs LSU and Florida. Both of those jobs have been open since October.

Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide converses with head coach Lane Kiffin of the Ole Miss Rebels

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However, there's another situation unfolding in the SEC that could be of interest for Kiffin.

During a recent appearance on Tide 100. 9’s The Game with Ryan Fowler, Centre Daily Times’ Jon Sauber named Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer as a top person of interest for Penn State.

"(DeBoer's) been one of Penn State's top targets from the beginning," Sauber said. "I think it was, early on, a little bit pie in the sky, of course, Alabama's close game with South Carolina, there was a chance it could have picked up there. It didn't, and then the loss to Oklahoma nudged the door open a little bit.

"I still think Alabama would have to miss the playoffs to make this a real possibility."

It's unlikely the No. 10 Crimson Tide will suffer an upset on Saturday when they host Eastern Illinois, a 3-8 FCS program. However, Alabama's playoff hopes would be crushed if it lost to Auburn on the road on Nov. 29. DeBoer could look for an escape to Penn State after missing in the CFP two years in a row in Tuscaloosa.

As Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams of USA Today wrote earlier this week, Kiffin could stay at Ole Miss and wait for more jobs to open in 2026 and 2027. They named Alabama as a possible destination.

Kiffin coached for three seasons under Nick Saban at Alabama, serving as both offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and won a national title with the program in 2015. As Saban (who has been in Kiffin's ear about the LSU job) would attest, the Crimson Tide gig is a lot better than LSU.

Alabama might be the most prestigious job in college football.

But can Kiffin wait long enough for that option to open? The "Iron Bowl" is played one day after the "Egg Bowl," and the Rebels are going to want an answer before their game in Starkville.

But what leverage does Ole Miss have over Kiffin and LSU, Florida or Alabama? Could Kiffin live with himself if he signed a contract extension with the Rebels or signed with another team hours before the Crimson Tide became available?

As Kiffin has done for over a month, wait and see.

For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.

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