Happy Thanksgiving. We are thankful for you guys. I wish you and your families a wonderful holiday.
As of this morning, I'm about 50-50 on what's going to happen regarding Lane Kiffin. The Ole Miss coach met with his coaching staff and then the team on Wednesday at The Inn at Ole Miss. The message, essentially, was he's staying unless something changes. That's quite the qualifier. I think there was an overreaction to what he said, but the players were pretty fired up. I went from picking Mississippi State tonight to picking Ole Miss, for what that's worth. The emotion will likely be more positive than it would've been had the game been Tuesday night.
That said, I'm not sure a lot has changed. I've tried to sort of put the puzzle pieces together this morning. Last Thursday, things got hot in Oxford, as it became obvious to Ole Miss people that the Auburn threat was very, very real. Ole Miss presented Kiffin with a lucrative new deal worth some $9 million per year. A source close to Kiffin told me today it's a "very nice deal." As of this writing, to the best of my knowledge, he hasn't signed it or verbally agreed to it. I suppose there's a chance that happens today before the game. If it does, Ole Miss will issue a press release and much of the negativity surrounding Kiffin in and around Oxford will dissipate, if not disappear altogether.
In the absence of that, the cloud will hang over the day. But back to the puzzle. Ole Miss lost at Arkansas this past Saturday, and after the game, Brandon Marcello and I asked Kiffin three questions about his situation, the contract and his future. His answers were ambiguous at best. On Monday in Oxford, Kiffin met with the media. Parrish Alford asked a couple of questions, but for the most part, it was tame. Then, that evening, Jon Sokoloff's tweet and story broke and all hell broke loose.
I believe that story was sourced from Auburn-affiliated sources. I believe I could guess the source. People close to Kiffin believe the same. Kiffin's tweeting at Sokoloff that evening was pretty emotional, but I believe, based on conversations, that Kiffin was more angry than anything else. That story put him on the clock and created pressure. Sure, there was a denial, but the denial was a word salad no one consumed. It led to two days of Kiffin losing tons of capital at Ole Miss. My educated guess is someone at Auburn wanted to carpet bomb Ole Miss a bit, and to some degree, that absolutely happened. However, that action put Kiffin in the most awkward of situations.
On Tuesday, Kiffin, who has always said he never addresses these things with his team, addressed the story with his team but he spoke with a qualifier, telling them the story wasn't true and that if he were to leave, they'd learn from him and not through social media. On Wednesday, he met with his coaching staff and team, as I said earlier, but that contained quite the qualifier as well. Based on conversations with people who know him well, I don't think Kiffin knows what he wants to do or plans to do. I think he remains Auburn's top choice but I do think Auburn will want to move fairly fast this weekend. For if AU isn't getting Kiffin, it has decisions to make. As an aside, I'm told Auburn isn't worried about the timing of the Iron Bowl game in Tuscaloosa or about Carnell Williams' feelings, if you will. If they can get Kiffin on Friday, for example, they will. I do think Hugh Freeze is the second choice there, and I've gotten hints that Freeze and his people have quietly been putting together a staff should he land an SEC gig, but I was told to pump the brakes on Freeze this morning, whatever that means.
Regardless of the outcome of the game tonight in Oxford, Kiffin is going to get direct, pointed questions about his future. There's no regular season left. There's no game to focus on. Bowl games are meaningless in this era, so he can't lean on that. He's going to get asked direct questions and the answers will be telling. Again, while it's possible this ends today with Kiffin and Ole Miss announcing an agreement, that's doubtful. As of late last night, there was no sign that was forthcoming today. A Friday resolution is more likely, one way or the other.
More today if there's something to report. Otherwise, we'll have coverage of the game and Chase will have the MPW Digital Postgame Show, presented by Dead Soxy, immediately following the game. I'll join after the press conference.
Again, Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you get to enjoy your families. For those who have lost loved ones this year and meet this day mourning the absence of said loved one, I wish you peace and comfort and hope you can lean on special memories.
As of this morning, I'm about 50-50 on what's going to happen regarding Lane Kiffin. The Ole Miss coach met with his coaching staff and then the team on Wednesday at The Inn at Ole Miss. The message, essentially, was he's staying unless something changes. That's quite the qualifier. I think there was an overreaction to what he said, but the players were pretty fired up. I went from picking Mississippi State tonight to picking Ole Miss, for what that's worth. The emotion will likely be more positive than it would've been had the game been Tuesday night.
That said, I'm not sure a lot has changed. I've tried to sort of put the puzzle pieces together this morning. Last Thursday, things got hot in Oxford, as it became obvious to Ole Miss people that the Auburn threat was very, very real. Ole Miss presented Kiffin with a lucrative new deal worth some $9 million per year. A source close to Kiffin told me today it's a "very nice deal." As of this writing, to the best of my knowledge, he hasn't signed it or verbally agreed to it. I suppose there's a chance that happens today before the game. If it does, Ole Miss will issue a press release and much of the negativity surrounding Kiffin in and around Oxford will dissipate, if not disappear altogether.
In the absence of that, the cloud will hang over the day. But back to the puzzle. Ole Miss lost at Arkansas this past Saturday, and after the game, Brandon Marcello and I asked Kiffin three questions about his situation, the contract and his future. His answers were ambiguous at best. On Monday in Oxford, Kiffin met with the media. Parrish Alford asked a couple of questions, but for the most part, it was tame. Then, that evening, Jon Sokoloff's tweet and story broke and all hell broke loose.
I believe that story was sourced from Auburn-affiliated sources. I believe I could guess the source. People close to Kiffin believe the same. Kiffin's tweeting at Sokoloff that evening was pretty emotional, but I believe, based on conversations, that Kiffin was more angry than anything else. That story put him on the clock and created pressure. Sure, there was a denial, but the denial was a word salad no one consumed. It led to two days of Kiffin losing tons of capital at Ole Miss. My educated guess is someone at Auburn wanted to carpet bomb Ole Miss a bit, and to some degree, that absolutely happened. However, that action put Kiffin in the most awkward of situations.
On Tuesday, Kiffin, who has always said he never addresses these things with his team, addressed the story with his team but he spoke with a qualifier, telling them the story wasn't true and that if he were to leave, they'd learn from him and not through social media. On Wednesday, he met with his coaching staff and team, as I said earlier, but that contained quite the qualifier as well. Based on conversations with people who know him well, I don't think Kiffin knows what he wants to do or plans to do. I think he remains Auburn's top choice but I do think Auburn will want to move fairly fast this weekend. For if AU isn't getting Kiffin, it has decisions to make. As an aside, I'm told Auburn isn't worried about the timing of the Iron Bowl game in Tuscaloosa or about Carnell Williams' feelings, if you will. If they can get Kiffin on Friday, for example, they will. I do think Hugh Freeze is the second choice there, and I've gotten hints that Freeze and his people have quietly been putting together a staff should he land an SEC gig, but I was told to pump the brakes on Freeze this morning, whatever that means.
Regardless of the outcome of the game tonight in Oxford, Kiffin is going to get direct, pointed questions about his future. There's no regular season left. There's no game to focus on. Bowl games are meaningless in this era, so he can't lean on that. He's going to get asked direct questions and the answers will be telling. Again, while it's possible this ends today with Kiffin and Ole Miss announcing an agreement, that's doubtful. As of late last night, there was no sign that was forthcoming today. A Friday resolution is more likely, one way or the other.
More today if there's something to report. Otherwise, we'll have coverage of the game and Chase will have the MPW Digital Postgame Show, presented by Dead Soxy, immediately following the game. I'll join after the press conference.
Again, Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you get to enjoy your families. For those who have lost loved ones this year and meet this day mourning the absence of said loved one, I wish you peace and comfort and hope you can lean on special memories.
