OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin on Tuesday denied he has been given an ultimatum from the administration to make a decision about his future with the Rebels.
Kiffin, who has guided Ole Miss to a 10-1 record this season, is believed to be the top candidate for coaching vacancies at both Florida and LSU.
“Yeah, that’s absolutely not true,” Kiffin told “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN. “There has been no ultimatum, anything like that at all. And so I don’t know where that came from, like a lot of stuff that comes out there. Like I said, man, we’re having a blast. I love it here.”
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However, sources told ESPN on Tuesday that Ole Miss officials are pressing Kiffin and his agent, Jimmy Sexton, for a resolution. Athletic director Keith Carter has asked for Kiffin to reach a decision by this upcoming weekend, sources said.
The sources stopped short of calling it an ultimatum, but they added that Carter and others want an answer so they can prepare for the postseason, a potential coaching transition before the CFP and a search to identify Kiffin’s replacement if he leaves.
Sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday that Kiffin’s ex-wife, Layla; son, Knox; and his brother Chris Kiffin’s son visited Gainesville, Florida, on Sunday.
Layla Kiffin, who lives in Oxford, visited Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the next day with other family members, according to sources.
Ole Miss officials have made it clear to Kiffin and Sexton that the Rebels would match any contract offer the Gators and Tigers might make, the sources told ESPN.
Kiffin, who has an annual salary of $9 million and another $2.6 million in potential bonuses, was the 10th-highest paid coach in the FBS this season. He is the fifth-highest paid in the SEC this season, behind Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($13.3 million), Texas’ Steve Sarkisian ($10.8 million), Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer ($10.3 million) and former LSU coach Brian Kelly ($10.2 million).
The Tigers fired Kelly on Oct. 26 after his teams compiled a 34-14 record in three-plus seasons.
The Gators fired Billy Napier on Oct. 19 after his teams went 22-23 in four seasons.
The Rebels, who are No. 7 in the CFP rankings heading into Tuesday night’s update reveal, close the regular season against Mississippi State in the Nov. 28 Egg Bowl (12 p.m. ET, ABC) in Starkville.
Kiffin, 50, has guided the Rebels to a 54-19 record during his six seasons. Ole Miss won at least 10 games for the fourth time in the past five seasons, the most successful stretch in the program’s history.
If the Rebels defeat Mississippi State on Black Friday, they would be in position to host a first-round CFP contest in Oxford on Dec. 19 or 20.
“I love what we’re doing here,” Kiffin said after last week’s 34-24 win against Florida at Vaught Hemingway Stadium. “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.”
