ESPN Insider Pete Thamel Explains Timing And Mindset Of Ole Miss And Lane Kiffin

During the ESPN College GameDay podcast this week, College Football Insider Pete Thamel talked about Lane Kiffin's situation at Ole Miss amid speculation that he could leave Oxford for LSU or Florida.

Thamel states that the Rebels are looking for a decision from Kiffin this week; otherwise, it signals he is leaving. Per On3:

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“This is Ole Miss’ quandary: If they don’t get a yes and a signature from Lane Kiffin this week on a new deal, it is going to signal that he’s likely going to go elsewhere,” Thamel said. “Ole Miss isn’t going to get outbid financially, right? This isn’t the ’90s, where someone can come in and just crush them. They have shown their rate of spend at the highest levels of the SEC.

“Then, the conundrum becomes this: Ole Miss is a playoff lock. … Would Ole Miss let a departing Lane Kiffin coach in the playoff? And the answer is probably not, right? If this guy is going to go to one of your SEC rivals, and I don’t think anyone in a Power Five conference would let a coach who’s leaving a team stick around and coach in the playoff.”

“I’ve gotten the feeling that Ole Miss, at the end of this week, may start running out of a little bit of patience, being like, ‘Hey, what else can we do here? You know what I mean, what else? What else can we possibly do?'” Thamel said. “As with Lane Kiffin always, it’s not going to be boring.

“There’s going to be theater. There’s going to be drama. … This is the week where we should get some clues into what Lane’s intentions are.”

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What do you think? Does Kiffin leave or stay put in Oxford? Sound off in the comment section.