Friday was a rather adventurous day in the Lane Kiffin soap opera that looks like it is going to reach its conclusion next week. Florida has been pursuing Kiffin ever since Billy Napier got fired, but LSU has also joined the party, while Ole Miss is doing everything it can to retain Kiffin.
Nobody knows for sure what Kiffin is going to do. Kiffin himself might not even know. But there are people who claimthey know, and depending on which camp they are in, their level of confidence varies.
Lane Kiffin to decide next Sunday on either Florida, LSU, or Ole Miss
Three significant pieces of Lane Kiffin news came out on Friday:
- Florida officials met with Kiffin's camp on Thursday.
- Ole Miss AD announced a decision would be made after next week's Egg Bowl.
- LSU's contract offer was leaked to Yahoo.
The first one is significant because Ole Miss insiders were trying to swear up and down that Florida had been "ghosted" by Kiffin. This always felt like nonsense given that Kiffin's camp litteraly toured Gainesville earlier this week.
It also feels interesting that just after that news was leaked, Ole Miss opted to make their announcement, which left Ole Miss insiders seemingly convinced that Kiffin is heading to LSU.
Mind you, these are the same insiders who swore Florida was "ghosted" and who frankly also swore this time last month that Kiffin wasn't going anywhere.
The contract offer coming out at 10 PM on a Friday also screams of someone trying to leverage someone else. According to Yahoo, LSU is going to offer Kiffin a seven-year deal worth at least $90 million, with a significant investment into NIL that could top $25 million.
We knew LSU would have to offer big money, but this is the same LSU that is trying to weasel out of its massive buyout to Brian Kelly and has the backdrop of their own governor sticking his nose into the athletic department in Baton Rouge.
Despite all the noise of Florida and Kiffin, we still state that the Gators have handled their business mostly in silence, whereas LSU burst onto the scene this week in the chase for Kiffin, and every day, there is some nugget coming out that feels louder than the last.
It does seem clear that Kiffin isn't staying at Ole Miss. It would be a shocker for him to go through this media blitz over the last month just to wind up staying.
But whether or not Florida is going to beat out LSU for Kiffin all depends upon who you ask.