Lane Kiffin Teases Ole Miss Return in Photo, Addresses Rumors After Win vs. Florida

Lane Kiffin hinted he's returning to Ole Miss for another season amid rumors he is considering leaving to coach at Florida or in the NFL.

Kiffin posted a photo in a Saturday social media post featuring hats stitched with "Kiffin 2026," which he captioned by tagging Ole Miss football.

"I love what we're doing here," Kiffin told reporters after Ole Miss beat Florida 34-24 against interim Gators head coach Billy Gonzales on Saturday, per ESPN's Andrea Adelson. "Today was awesome. To even talk about it right now would be so disrespectful to our players and how well they played today. We've got a lot of things going here. Doing really well, and I love it here."

Kiffin also addressed how rumors impact the team, per Adelson:

"I don't think we were distracted; 538 yards today for an offense seems pretty focused. We've been dealing with what people would say are distractions for weeks now. It's different nowadays. I think kids think differently.

"They're getting pre-portaled every Saturday night they play well. I just talk to them and say, 'That's part of the process. When you guys play really well, these things happen, your coach gets talked about,' and it ain't the first time or first year that it's happened around here. I don't think it's a problem."

Kiffin is in his sixth season with Ole Miss. He has led the Rebels to a 9-1 record that has the program in contention for its inaugural College Football Playoff berth this winter.

Although Kiffin is currently under contract through 2031, that success has reportedly led to him receiving interest from other programs with head coaching vacancies.

On3's Pete Nakos reported in October that Kiffin "is at the top of the board" for Florida as the program searches for a replacement for Billy Napier.

Bruce Feldman and Ralph D. Russo recently reported for The Athletic that the Tennessee Titans have "at least a modicum of interest" in pursuing Kiffin as a potential successor to Brian Callahan.

Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter said earlier this season the Rebels wanted to be "proactive" in working out a new contract for Kiffin.

If Kiffin plans to return to Oxford for another season, he could potentially signal his intention by signing a new deal with the program.