In the most successful season in most of our lives at Ole Miss, the Rebels appear to be in quite the predicament as they enter the bye week before the Egg Bowl. The rumors are running wild, and it seems both LSU and Florida are all in trying to lure Lane Kiffin away from Oxford.
Everyone gets that if you are the man who brings LSU or Florida back to glory you become the man for a while, but honestly, it would be crazy to leave for either. What he has accomplished as coach of the Rebels is statue worthy for a program that has not experienced this amount of sustained success since Johnny Vaught.
LSU is considered a Top five destination for college coaches with the recruiting and everything that is put into making the football program successful. The history is there but it has not been near as consistent as some make it seem, and it is a reason only one coach in my lifetime has had more than a decade run in Baton Rouge.
We all know what Florida was with Steve Spurrier and that there was a small resurgence with Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer. However, both schools have quite a level of pressure to win and coaches get turned on quicker than a lot of places. When things are going right life is great in Baton Rouge and Gainesville, but when things aren't to the fan expectations can leave the head coach in a miserable situation.
There may not be the same amount of resources at Ole Miss and the football program will never be considered as prestigious as Kiffin's two current suitors but he has proven it is possible to win in a place that was once considered near impossible.
To follow up last season with this season puts Kiffin in rare air in Oxford and it will be interesting to see if the allure of being the man can trump being another guy at LSU or Florida. If Lane does step away from his current position it will be very interesting how the decision makers will handle the Egg Bowl, the playoff, and depending how the final week of the regular season goes their first ever appearance in the SEC Championship Game.