New CBS Sports story on Lane, LSU, Ole Miss, and "the chase"

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Why were Kiffin family members taking visits to Florida and LSU in recent days? It all comes back to Ole Miss wanting clarity on Kiffin's situation, according to sources, and a recognition from Lane that putting off a decision until after the Rebels' season was no longer possible. As the timeline started to get sped up, Lane wanted as much information as possible from trusted sources as he weighed his stay-or-go decision.

For weeks now, sources have told CBS Sports that if Ole Miss was convinced Kiffin was not staying long-term in Oxford, it would not let him coach in the College Football Playoff. Of course thinking that and even expressing that sentiment is different than actually doing it and accepting all the complications that come with it. But it has been a real conversation happening within the Ole Miss athletics administration.

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In a scene first reported in my book "The Price: What It Takes to Win in College Football's Era of Chaos," a prominent booster promised to make a $500,000 contribution to the NIL fund if Kiffin stayed at Ole Miss. And after the loss to Mississippi State came an updated offer from the booster: "I'll give that f—er $500,000 to leave." That's how frustrating the whole process was by the end, and that booster wasn't alone in that thinking.

All of the winning in the three years since has made Kiffin the celebrity du jour of Oxford, but that scar tissue didn't go away. Ole Miss administrators were deeply frustrated with how the Auburn distractions derailed that potentially special season, according to sources, and it appears to be having an impact on not wanting that to play out all over again, even if it did work out for Ole Miss the first time. The frustration isn't isolated to athletics, either, as university-side folks have expressed frustration in recent weeks with Kiffin's hold over the school.

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But there is a growing fear within Ole Miss that Kiffin doesn't love the school quite as much as he's publicly professed. He has complained, publicly and privately, about the fanbase -- including a shot Saturday night about the crowd for The Citadel game. He's long been enamored with the idea of coaching a true blue blood again, an opportunity LSU and Florida are both very eager to give him.

Perhaps, as one booster who knows Kiffin well put it, he feels he's already done it all in Oxford.

"He's run it like his town," the source said, "and there's no chase for him anymore. And he's a chaser. The chase is gone cause he conquered it."

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There are important people in Lane's life advocating for all the possible outcomes -- some have said LSU offers the best title chances, others believe he could win big and be happy at Florida -- but ultimately it will come down to where he thinks he can win it all and his family can be happy.

Deep down, Ole Miss just wants to hear Lane say he loves it and isn't leaving. But Kiffin, still unsure of what he wants to do per sources, can't say those words. He can't say out loud to McAfee that he's definitively not leaving Ole Miss because that'd be a lie. He might. In fact, multiple sources have told CBS Sports over the last week they believe it is more likely than not that Kiffin leaves, though there are always multiple caveats of "you never know what he's going to do" when it comes to him.

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