Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin remains in headlines this week with the recent news of Billy Napier being relieved of his duties as the decision-maker for the Florida Gators.

After a four-year stint in Gainesville where Napier went 22-23 with the program, the administration made the move in parting ways on Sunday afternoon.

Now, the rumor mill is heating up with Kiffin at the forefront of the conversation as the Gators’ “No. 1 priority” during their coaching search.

In an interview with Rivals last week, Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter stated that the program is eyeing a new deal with Kiffin where they are proactively working towards getting the framework together.

Fast forward to this past Sunday and Kiffin addressed local reporters in Oxford for his weekly Zoom press conference where he commented on the recent reports and buzz surrounding the Florida opening.

“That’s awesome that [AD Keith Carter] said those things, and I don’t take that for granted,” Kiffin said. “Extremely appreciative of how everyone’s been here. Keith, the chancellor, everybody. So, (I’m) flattered that that would even be being discussed halfway through the season. But I don’t deal with that.”

Despite Kiffin being at the forefront of the conversation, college football analyst David Pollack believes he will remain the head coach at Ole Miss.

“The names that you’re hearing that I just don’t—I’m not jiving with,” Pollack said. “Like Lane Kiffin, I just think Lane’s at a spot in his life, man, where he’s so happy and he’s so excited. And you saw the documentary—he’s prospering, right?

“He’s doing good. His son Knox threw a game-winning touchdown last week. So he’s ingrained into high school football. I just don’t think he’s going to leave because of that. I think he’s really, really found happiness.”

For Kiffin, he’s staying focused on the task at hand with the Oklahoma Sooners up next on the docket for the Rebels.

“[Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables] has done an awesome job whenever he’s led the defense. Every year but one they’ve had Top 10 finishes, which is just a phenomenal job of how hard he gets them to play,” Kiffin said on Monday.

“They’ve got great players now that he’s had a couple of years to get these guys in there and get them trained and coached. They’re playing well and better than any defense in the country. Have basically shut everybody down. Phenomenal. 

“They’ve done an amazing job, and he just somehow gets the information to the guys and they do a great job of playing plays. They just do things that are very abnormal when they see plays that they think are coming and go to take them away and go to pick them off.”

No. 8 Ole Miss and Oklahoma will kickoff at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday with all eyes set to be on the Top-15 SEC showdown in Norman.

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