Lane Kiffin Says He'll 'Never' Make Decision Based on Money Amid LSU, Florida Rumors

As he's the topic of rumors related to the college coaching carousel, Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin denied any decision he makes would be fueled by money alone.

"I've seen too many examples in life where money does not buy happiness," he said Monday on The Pat McAfee Show (via Ben Garrett of The Ole Miss Spirit). "I am never going to make a decision over money, nor do I care about it. Jimmy Sexton gets really mad when I say that. 'We gotta get this, we gotta get this.' I'm like, 'Jimmy, I don't care.' He goes, 'I do!'"

Kiffin also addressed the speculation directly and said he has spoken with his players about the situation:

Florida could reportedly make a serious run at Kiffin, while LSU just opened up after the Tigers announced Brian Kelly's impending exit. Throw Penn State into the mix as well and Ole Miss might be feeling some pressure to give its coach a raise on top of the automatic extension that went into effect this weekend.

Even though Kiffin, 50, is far from old in coaching terms, he has gained some experience that might give him a different perspective than a lot of his peers.

Being the son of legendary defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin helped to accelerate Kiffin's career. Before he had even turned 40, he had been hired and fired by the then-Oakland Raiders and USC, and he spent one year as Tennessee's coach in between those stops.

"I had a very large ego. Kids who are given too much, too early sometimes — you see it in actors all the time," he reflected in an interview with ESPN's David Hale. "Sometimes you're not ready for all that. I wasn't ready at 31 to be the head coach of the Raiders, 32 at Tennessee, 33 or 34 at USC. I wasn't ready for all that fame and that money."

Kiffin has been much more deliberate since his ill-fated spell with the Trojans. He rebuilt his coaching stock by working under Nick Saban for three years at Alabama. From there, he leveraged the talent-fertile Sunshine State and quickly recognized the benefits of the transfer portal at Florida Atlantic, compiling a 27-13 record in three years with the Owls.

Kiffin left for Ole Miss ahead of the 2020 season. Thanks to the Hugh Freeze era, he knew the right coach could make the Rebels a winning program, and the general expectations in Oxford are lower compared to some of their SEC rivals.

A younger version of Kiffin might've bolted already for what he believed to be greener pastures. He was heavily linked with the Auburn job in 2022.

Now, Ole Miss owns a 7-1 record and has a straightforward path to making the College Football Playoff. Things have worked out pretty nicely for the Rebels coach.

Fans will always take it with a grain of salt when a head coach publicly affirms his commitment to his current school as he's mentioned in various rumors. In the case of Kiffin, he might be perfectly content after having found high-profile jobs aren't all they're cracked up to be.