Sports

Curious Lane Kiffin Buyout Clause Could Save Ole Miss $36 Million. Here’s Why They Won’t Use It

#Lane Kiffin
by Last Updated

© Dale Zanine-Imagn Images


Ole Miss continues to await a decision from Lane Kiffin on his head coaching future. The Rebels are preparing for all possible outcomes while pursuing a national title.

One of those avenues involves getting rid of their head coach before the team’s first playoff game. A curious clause in Kiffin’s contract would make it much less expensive, but it wouldn’t make much sense to exercise it.

Drama surrounding Kiffin’s status in Oxford has swirled in recent weeks. Both Florida and LSU have head coaching openings. Kiffin is the top target for both.

He’s refused to deny interest in either school, leading to rumors that the Rebels have given an ultimatum.

Failure to follow Ole Miss’s supposed demands would put a firing in play.

If Lane Kiffin doesn’t meet deadline, Ole Miss would have to decide if it would allow him to coach in playoffs, sources told On3sports. If there is no resolution, it will be an agonizing decision for Kiffin & the Rebels.

-Brett McMurphy / X

Will Lane Kiffin coach at Ole Miss in 2026?

At this point, it remains unclear. His family has toured both Gainesville and Baton Rouge. All the while, Kiffin’s expressed his love for Oxford.

It would seem clear that he’s been in discussion with both of his suitors while the Rebels finish out their regular season. If he has not told the school of those discussions, he has technically violated a clause in his contract.

Lawyer Tom Mars reviewed his initial deal from 2020. It states that Ole Miss can “change or reassign [his] duties’ under certain circumstances, which include him ‘seeking or considering’ employment with another school without giving ‘prior written notice’ to the athletics director.”

Mars says it’s unlikely that clause has changed. Essentially, if he failed to inform the school of his job pursuits, he could be fired with cause to avoid paying a buyout, which currently stands at $36.6 million.

We do not know if that is the case. Kiffin may have been completely transparent with Ole Miss from the jump. In the end, it probably won’t matter.

Kiffin will not be fired.

A lot would have to happen for it to even be considered an option. First, Kiffin would have to string the job speculation beyond the regular season finale vs. Mississippi State – the rumored ultimatum date provided by the Rebels.

Second, the program would have to decide whether their national championship chances are better with Kiffin off the sidelines. These questions would need to be asked.

Is Lane Kiffin a distraction? Is he committed to winning a title? Does he have one foot out the door?

Kiffin is one of college football’s top coaches. The Rebels are better off with him on the sidelines, even if he plans on leaving at year’s end.

Championship opportunities do not come every season. Ole Miss must take full advantage.

Furthermore, a firing wouldn’t make sense financially. Yes, violation of this clause would save the Rebels from paying the buyout. It would not prevent Kiffin from taking a new job.

In all likelihood, he’d land at the same stop whether fired or having gone on his own terms.

If relieved of his duties, the buyout is nixed, but Kiffin would also be off the hook for upholding his end of the bargain. Should the head coach leave Ole Miss, he owes the school $4 million, a number that drops to $3 million in 2026.

Lane Kiffin will probably be at Florida or LSU if he is not coaching Ole Miss. The Rebels can let him walk and collect a few million dollars, or they can rob themselves with an emotional firing.

Folks in Oxford hope neither is the case.